Demon Duelist Legacy Dark Soul Arc
by Wolf General
Summary: The second installment of the Demon Duelist Legacy story. Can our heroes finally end the insanity that is the Shadow Corporation?
1. Enter Saito Hiroshi

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. So stop thinking I do.

**_Demon Duelist Legacy Season 3- Dark Soul Arc_**

Chapter 1: Enter Saito Hiroshi 

Centennial High School...A place of learning and enlightenment. A place where young and impressionable minds go to learn of the world...

To quote myself: "Wishful thinking".

Daniel Pilkington stared at his teacher, eyes half-closed. All he heard of today's lecture was something like "Blah blah blah blah test blah blah blah on your notes, etc."

_("Just let me kill him please?")_ Rikuo whined loudly from within his head.

Daniel sighed quietly. ("No Rikuo. No killing the teacher.")

The wolf demon mentally glared at his other half and covered his ears with his hands.

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Eventually the bell rang and class was out. As Daniel lazily followed the crowd of other students, who were pouring out of the classroom in waves, he thought back on the last month and the events around it.

It had started out fine enough. The local card store in the area, Tim Boal's Comic Oasis, had been holding a special Duel Monster's tournament during a special week long break from school. The main prize for the tournament was a three pack of entry tickets for the PQ tournament, which was a special event being held by the famous military hardware company Shadow corp. The top four duelists of that tournament would be given free air fare to Japan, where the Shadow Corporation's actual tournament was being held.

Just a month ago, Daniel had only been a semi-good duelist, and he had just barely placed third place in the shop tournament. Luckily for him his friend CJ had gotten first place and won the tickets, which he had given to Daniel, himself, and their friend Deondre. After a night of being drilled in the techniques of his deck, Daniel had thought himself ready for the PQ tournament.

Of course as Daniel quickly learned nothing ever went as planned in his life. He had done alright in the first round, but then he wound up dueling for his life against this crazy guy who called himself an Emissary of the Shadow Corporation. He had barely managed to win that duel, although he had to admit that it was close game. After that he went on to the top four, which won him the ticket to Japan.

The flight there had been loads of fun for him. He had wound up in another duel with another insane Emissary. That was where he met Rikuo, the wolf demon general that apparently had been reincarnated inside his body.

Rikuo had an enemy in the organizer of the tournament, Giovan Garlin. Garlin was the reincarnated soul of the evil King Kilomet Sestros, who had made Rikuo's life hell in the past.

So what should have been a fun tournament turned into a living nightmare, filled with duels where lives were on the line, and souls were being gambled with. Thanks to the help of Yugi Moto, the King of Games, Rikuo was able to defeat Giovan Garlin and banish his soul from this plane of existence. ("That was a month ago....and now...")

It was back to life as normal for Daniel. Well as normal as it could be. Rikuo was still around in his mind. He had returned to school, returned to having duels that didn't involve him dying if he lost, etc.

As he walked past a group of younger students who were spending their lunch hour trading Duel Monster's cards, they all stopped and stared at him in awe. He sighed and ignored them. Seeing as how he had played the world champion of Duel Monsters to a draw now everyone at school didn't even want to play him at the game. ("Most people would think that world fame is a good thing, but all it has caused me is pains.")

_("Keh! Don't complain idiot. It's not like playing all of these weaklings would be any fun anyways.")_ Rikuo, as always, added his thoughts in just to remind Daniel he could hear his host's thoughts at all times.

("Why don't you go and take a nap or something?")

_("Shut up.")_

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It didn't take Daniel long to find Deondre, CJ, Allon and Janeam. The five friends always met to eat their lunch near the established 'dueling' field next to the school.

After having to break up about one hundred duels in one day, the school figured out that maybe it would be best to give the student body someplace to hold their duels that was official. So they had built a small collection of tables and chairs, with a grassy field for duels between the owners of duel disks, right next to the school.

Daniel arrived and as always he found his four friends sitting at a table and eating their lunches. Well Allon and Janeam were eating, while CJ and Deondre were dueling each other on the other end of the table.

Deondre tugged on his jersey and shuffled up his cards back into their deck. He looked over at Daniel and smiled. "Well if it isn't the Centennial Wolf himself."

Daniel flinched at the nickname that he had recently been given by the student body. Lately he was being considered something of a local hero, though the wolf part of his title was thanks to Rikuo. ("Did you really need to take over my body when those guys attacked me in the middle of school? I could have taken them?")

_("There were ten of them. It was either turn you into your half demon form or have you get beaten senseless.")_

He knew that his demon half was right, but that didn't mean that he liked it. Because of that the entire school had found out rather quickly that he was a wolf demon. ("At least half of one anyway.")

_("Once again idiot, you shouldn't be complaining. You should appreciate the fact that I have turned you into a 'hero for the weak', and all that crap.")_ Rikuo's tone was so haughty that it just reinforced Daniel's opinion on the whole matter.

What was his opinion? The entire situation sucked. ("Do you have to get me involved at all though? Just because you see someone bullying someone else doesn't mean that you need to take over and scare that person off. It's bad enough that most of the school is afraid of me, but lately I've been getting offers from the principal to be some kind of hall monitor.") Once again, Daniel didn't like this kind of attention. Rikuo was thrusting him into situations he didn't want to be part of. ("I bet Yugi and Yami don't have problems like this.")

_("That's because I'm not like the Pharaoh. I prefer a slightly more active life with my host. Besides, Yami is an ancient spirit that resides in Yugi's puzzle. I, on the other hand, am part of you until you die.")_

Deondre snapped his fingers in front of Daniel's face a couple of times to get him out of his reverie. "Yo Daniel, stop talking to Rikuo and pay attention."

Daniel held back a blush and sat down with his friends. "Sorry about that, guys. Lately Rikuo's taken it upon himself to play superhero for every oppressed person he sees, whether it be on the school grounds or on the street. I'm starting to get worn down from playing the part of the Centennial Wolf, protector of the innocent, etc. I just want to be Daniel Pilkington, protector of himself and nothing more."

CJ shrugged and took a bite out of his BLT. "Why are you complaining? You're a half demon dude. You've super speed, super strength, super senses..."

Daniel slammed his skull into the wooden table. "Stop reminding me! I never wanted any of those things though! I wanted to be a world class duelist, not a freakin demon!"

Allon sipped his drink. "From what I've heard as of late, everyone considers you both."

Janeam nodded sagely. "You should be embracing your new gifts, not shunning them."

_("I'm glad that not all humans are as stupid as you.")_

Daniel's only answer to all of it was to bang his head into the table again.

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Right outside the school a limousine pulled up into the parking lot and smoothly came to a stop.

The door in the back opened and a teenager climbed out. He was about 16, 5'8" tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a marine blue school uniform and attached to his arm was some kind of steel gauntlet with a deck of Duel Monsters attached to it. He walked up to the front of the limousine and mouthed "Wait here" to his driver. Then he went around to the side of the school and approached the dueling field. He was here for one purpose only. ("Daniel Pilkington...you and I have business to discuss.")

His eyes took in the groups of people gathered at the dueling tables, and then finally he saw the faces of CJ and Deondre Anderson. ("Those are his teammates, which means he is most likely nearby.")

Deondre was the first person to notice the guy's approach. Within the span of two seconds he figured out two things about this guy. The first was that he was here on some kind of business. The second was that this guy reminded him way too much of Seto Kaiba. ("They even look similar.") Memories of the CEO of Kaiba Corporation flashed through his head and he shivered involuntarily. Kaiba had been so cold-hearted that Deondre had always wondered if the guy was human.

The teenager walked up the five and looked coolly at CJ. "Where's Daniel Pilkington?"

CJ growled at the condescending tone in the guy's voice. He pointed casually at Daniel, who still had his face embedded into the wood of the table. "He's Daniel. Now who the hell are you?"

The guy narrowed his eyes at CJ's curt tone. "I am Saito Hiroshi, and I am here to challenge Daniel Pilkington to a duel."

Daniel muttered from his spot where his face was still pressed into the table, "I didn't bring my deck with me today."

Saito frowned and crossed his arms across his chest. "Do you even know why I am here?"

Daniel lifted his head up from the table and frowned at Saito. "No. Should I care?"

Saito's next sentence caught Daniel's attention completely and fully. "I'm here with information concerning your mother."

Within the span of three heartbeats Daniel was standing up. "Let's duel!"

Deondre casually threw in. "You just said you didn't have your deck with you though."

Daniel rolled his shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. "I lied."

Saito reached into his coat and pulled out a copy of the steel grey gauntlet the he was wearing. "You won't need your duel disk for this duel. We'll be holding the event right over there." He pointed over at the grassy field.

Daniel took the gauntlet and he figured out where the deck slot was, but he didn't see anywhere to put his cards or his graveyard.

At Daniel's confused glance, Saito smirked superiorly. "Don't worry about those things. You'll understand when we begin." He turned on his heel and walked over to the field.

Daniel slid his deck into the gauntlet slot and frowned. ("Something about this thing is...strange.")

_("It's radiating spiritual energy.")_

It didn't matter to Daniel. This duel was important to him. He walked past the slowly gathering crowd of onlookers and took his spot across from his opponent on the field.

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CJ, Deondre, Allon, and Janeam all took their spots at the front of the crowd.

"Hey Deondre, why did Daniel accept this duel so suddenly?"

Deondre glared at Saito half-heartedly while he spoke. "Do you remember what the original promise was for the winner of the Shadow Tournament?"

CJ nodded. "Yeah, they were supposed to get one wish fulfilled."

Deondre knew that it didn't matter if he told CJ, but it still felt awkward explaining this. "Daniel's wish had been to find out the truth about his mother. He had never gotten to know her before she had mysteriously vanished. Every time he would talk to his father about it he would get nothing. So if this guy actually has information concerning the whereabouts of Daniel's mother, then he's going to go to the ends of the earth and back to get it."

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Daniel still didn't understand how this game was supposed to work if he didn't have anywhere to put his cards, but he didn't care. ("I'll beat this guy at any game he wants if it will get me that information.") "So how exactly do we play this little game Saito?"

Saito closed his eyes and began to recite something quietly. It sounded a little like some kind of mantra. Around his body an aura of ghostly white energy developed, the pulsing spirit forming something like a grid above him. "This is the dueling field. This duel is known as a spirit duel, because you will be using your own spiritual strength to summon the monsters from your hand to the field." His superior smirk continued. He knew that as long as they were playing by his rules he would have the adavantage over this fool. ("He's just a human. It'll take most of his spiritual power just to summon the most basic of monsters.")

Daniel knew what this meant. ("Rikuo...")

_("I'll deal with him...")_

("Sorry, but he is mine. This duel involves my mother, and therefore I've got this guy in my sights.")

Rikuo went silent for a few seconds. _("...Alright. Don't you dare lose.")_

Daniel felt a slightly stinging sensation as his red hair lengthened to his lower back. His eyes itched as they changed from being brown to golden-amber. He felt the black wolf's tail of Rikuo's form sprout free of a hole in his jeans that he had recently added just in case of situations like this one. The most recent addition to Rikuo's form finally manifested itself as his ears were shifted and moved to the top of his head, where they stretched and warped until they looked exactly like a pair of wolf's ears, fur and all. Over time, as Rikuo's bond to Daniel strengthened, the boy's demon form looked more and more wolf-like.

There was only reason Daniel was changing now though. It was to tap into Rikuo's reserves of spiritual energy so that he could play Saito in this spirit duel. His eyes slowly opened and watched Saito appraisingly. "All right, let's get this game underway then."

Saito felt his superior smirk disappear as he realized just what he was facing. ("So he's a demon?") If there was one thing he wouldn't have expected, it was this.

("No matter though, I will crush him beneath my feet.") He drew the top five cards off of his deck and threw them up into the air. They arched and grew almost as tall as he was. Then they landed in a half circle around him and became wreathed in his energy. "I hope your control over your spiritual energy is good demon, because if it isn't then you're going to find yourself hard-pressed to keep up with me."

If there was one thing that could be said about Daniel, it was that he was a quick learner. He already had his five cards floating in front of him, each one glowing with the black-red energy of his aura. "Trust me, if anyone is going to be hard pressed in this duel it will be you."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Spirit Duel begins

Author's notes: My computer has punished me for being alive. It crashed and I had to reboot it, meaning that Demon Duelist Legacy original copies are gone. There's still a disk with seasons 1-3 on it, but that's at my house, about 700 miles away.

This website has some strange tendencies to kill off chapters of my story, so I am putting the arcs into separate stories, in hopes that this fixes that problem. Don't expect super-speed on this though, because I don't have the original copies to work with.


	2. The Spirit Duel Begins

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 2: The Spirit Duel Begins

_Saito felt his superior smirk disappear as he realized just what he was a facing. ("So he's a demon?") If there was one thing he wouldn't have expected, it was this. _

_("No matter though, I will crush him beneath my feet.") He drew the top five cards off of his deck and threw them up into the air. They arched and grew almost as tall as he was. They landed in a half circle around him and became wreathed in his energy. "I hope your control over your energy is good demon, because if it isn't then you're going to find yourself hard-pressed to keep up with me."_

_If there was one thing that could be said about Daniel, it was that he was a quick learner. He already had his five cards floating in front of him, each one glowing with the black-red energy of his aura. "Trust me, if anyone is going to be hard pressed in this duel it will be you."_

Saito sneered and lifted his hand, one of the five cards lifting into the air above him. It flipped over and the face of the card pulsed with light. "You're horrible at bluffing. Anyway, let me begin with something big. Come forth Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer!" (1800/800) The card shimmered and then the image of a ghostly monk appeared hovering in the air. "End turn."

Daniel reached for his deck, and yelped in pain as a sharp blast of electricity went into his fingers. "OW!!"

Saito sighed. "Did you notice that I didn't draw a card when my turn started? In a spirit duel we cannot surpass five cards in our hand. Also, at the beginning of each turn we draw until we have five cards in our hand. Finally, we can only play one magic card per turn. Get it?"

Daniel nodded and looked at his five floating cards. "Alright then." He motioned to one of his cards and launched into the air. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode!" The card flipped over to expose its face and it spat out the phantasmal form of the yellow and blue robot. "End turn."

Saito drew a single card and threw it to his field. "I see you think that a normal dueling strategy will work here hmm? Think again." One of his cards flipped up into the air and spun around. "Looks like I will have to educate you on just how a spirit duel really works! I summon Soul Stealer (2000/1200) in attack mode!" The creature that formed looked something like a dream catcher with wings.

Daniel stared at the creature incredulously. "I've seen that creature before. Its level is five. You need to tribute Kycoo to summon it."

Saito smirked and pointed at the X-Head Cannon. "You've been playing the extended version of the game way too much. Who ever said that tributes were needed to summon higher level monsters in this game? Soul Stealer, attack his X-Head Cannon!" The phantasmal creature flew across the field, ready to destroy the machine. Halfway there though it exploded in flash of smoke and light.

Daniel smiled and motioned to the card in his hand. "I just had a thought. You never mentioned how trap cards work. Then it occurred to me that putting them into the air might give away what they are, so I figured out we're suppose to activate them from our hand. Anyway, I triggered my trap card Widespread Ruin, meaning that your Soul Catcher is out of this match."

Saito clenched his fists and glared at the half demon. "Looks like I will have to stop underestimating you. You're figuring out this rules system very fast. End turn."

Daniel drew two cards from the gauntlet and tossed them into the air to join their counterparts. "I see how this system might cause for some very interesting games alright. So let's see how this works." He motioned to one of his floating cards and it launched itself into the air. "Allow me to introduce you to the man himself!" He motioned to his friends. "Drum roll please!"

They all gave him a dead-pan stare.

"...Err.....sorry. I got carried away." His card flipped over. "Reveal Jinzo!" (2400/1500) The green armored form of Daniel's favorite monster appeared on the field and chuckled coldly. The lines of spiritual energy between it and Daniel were especially bright.

Saito smirked and motioned to one of his face-down cards. "I trigger the trap card...." When his hand moved in line with the card he got a nasty shock of electricity up his arm.

Daniel lifted his upper lip to expose an elongated canine. "Sorry Saito but as long as Jinzo is in play all trap cards are useless. So say good-bye to Kycoo and a large portion of your lifepoints! Cyber Shock attack!" Jinzo charged up a large ball of black energy within its hands and unleashed the blast at the Kycoo, instantly blowing it into pieces that sprayed bits of spiritual power across the field.

Daniel- 2000

Saito- 1400

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Deondre blinked in surprise at the life point totals. "They're only starting with 2000? That means Daniel has won the game."

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"Now X-Head Cannon, direct attack!" The machine didn't move at all. "I said attack!"

Saito snickered. "Once again you assume too much fool. You cannot attack me directly as long as I have a monster on my field at the beginning of the turn."

Daniel would have bit his lower lip, but didn't want to injure himself with his fangs. ("Damn...these rules really mess with your head.") "I guess end turn then."

Saito drew and tossed a creature up into the air. "Heh, now I summon Neudoria (1200/800) in defense mode. End turn." The phantasmal form of a demon covered in spikes appeared in the air above him.

Daniel drew and tossed the card into his hand zone. "You think I'm dumb enough to attack that with my normal monsters? Fat chance Saito." He looked at his five assembled cards and smirked at the one on the end. He pointed at it and it launched up into the air. "I summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode." The phantasmal form of the samurai demon appeared right next to his Jinzo in the air. "With its special ability you can't use the effects of any monster it destroys. That means Neudoria is nothing! Howling Sword!" The Wolf Demon Lord launched across the field and slashed the monster to pieces. "End turn."

Saito drew one card and threw it into his hand zone. "You think yourself so clever, yet in all honesty you are nothing to me but an upstart demon."

Daniel frowned. "Half-demon. Rikuo's the demon."

Saito snorted and motioned to a card near the back of his hand zone. "I personally don't care. Now I summon..." It launched into the air and flipped over, the form exploding out of it that of a giant golden dragon. "I summon Kaiser Dragon (2300/2000) in attack mode!"

Daniel looked at the beast's attack totals and chuckled. "That's not going to be enough to beat me Saito. Didn't you notice that Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord are too strong for your creature?"

Saito launched another of his cards into the air. "Don't jump to any conclusions about my monster yet. I reveal the magic card Dragon Treasure, which raises my creature's attack points by 300!" (2600/2300)

Daniel frowned. ("Note to self: Don't jump to conclusions about people.")

Saito pointed at the X-Head Cannon. "Now blow his lump of useless steel away! Kaiser Flame!" The Dragon exhaled an enormous burst of fire that instantly consumed the machine.

Daniel- 1200

Saito- 1400

Saito lifted his nose haughtily. "End turn, Cur."

Daniel drew and tossed his card into the hand zone, then he motioned at another card and it launched into the air between his two remaining monsters. "A wise man once said, 'Know thy enemy'. Unfortunately you don't know me well enough, or you wouldn't have left Wolf Demon Lord and Jinzo on the field together."

Saito sneered. "You have a surprise for me?"

Daniel sneered back at him. "You know it! Go Polymerization!" The two monsters were sucked into a pulsing vortex. When the energy from the vortex faded, a new monster stood in their place. It looked like the Wolf Demon Lord except that it was covered in the green armor of Jinzo and it wielded a giant green sword. "Steel Wolf General, (3400/2000) attack his Kaiser Dragon!" The monster hefted its sword and lunged.

Saito snorted and one of his cards launched into the air. "Do I radiate stupidity to you or something? Go De-Fusion! This magic card will blow your monster back into its separate pieces!" There was a flash of light and the Steel Wolf General was gone. In its place were the Wolf Demon Lord and Jinzo. "Anything else or do you end your turn?"

Daniel gritted his teeth and motioned to one of his other cards. "Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in defense mode! End turn!" The phantasmal form of a yellow crab tank appeared on the field.

Saito drew three times and flicked his cards into the hand zone. At the sight of one of the cards he laughed. "Oh this should be good." He motioned to the card and it launched into the air. "Activate Stop Defense! This will switch your Z-Metal Tank from defense to attack mode!" The card released a wave of energy that slammed into the crab tank, and it went from a couched position into a more offense posture. "Now Kaiser Dragon, Kaiser Flame!" The golden dragon unleashed a burst of golden flame that instantly consumed the yellow tank.

Daniel- 100

Saito- 1400

Daniel's eyes widened. ("No! That's almost all of my life points in one hit!")

Saito smirked, his superior position against his opponent returned to him. "End turn."

Daniel took a deep breath and drew his single card. He glanced at it and narrowed his eyes. ("Hmmm....") He flicked it straight onto his field. "I summon Blowback Dragon (2300/2000) in defense mode!" A mechanical dragon with the barrel of a pistol for a head appeared in the air above him in a crouching position.

Saito bit his lower lip. ("No...that allows him to flip three coins. If at least two of them land on heads he can destroy one card on the field.")

Daniel motioned to his Blowback Dragon. "Go coin toss!" Three golden coins appeared in front of him and were launched into the air. They all slammed down with the heads side face-up. "Say good-bye to the Dragon Treasure card that makes your creature a threat to me. Go Blowback Burst!" The Blowback Dragon aimed its gun barrel at the hovering equipment magic card and it fired, blasting the card into scraps of paper. The Kaiser Dragon's attack power dropped appropriately. (2300/2000)

The half-demon grinned and pointed at the Kaiser Dragon. "Wolf Demon Lord, Howling Sword!" The samurai demon launched forward and snapped its sword down, cleaving the dragon in half.

Daniel- 100

Saito- 1300

Daniel motioned to his Jinzo. "I end my turn by switching Jinzo to defense position." The green machine monster fell to one knee and crossed its arms in front of it.

Saito drew and snickered. "That was a very good move Daniel. Now though..." He motioned to one of his face-down cards and it shot into the air. "I summon......"

The card flipped over and Daniel looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "IMPOSSIBLE!!"

Saito sneered. "....Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" (3000/2500) The enormous white-scaled dragon appeared and roared, its phantasmal ties glowing impossibly bright. "What's the matter cur, you look pale."

Daniel couldn't believe it. There were only three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards in the world and they all were owned by Seto Kaiba. "How...."

Saito snorted. "How do you think? Maybe you should have had checked Seto Kaiba's deck before you have left The Asylum? Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up its attack and blasted the Blowback Dragon into pieces of scrap. "End turn."

Daniel drew, a single bead of sweat dripping down his brow. ("This can't be possible...can it? Wouldn't Kaiba have mentioned if he had lost his Blue-Eyes White Dragons? Unless...") "You're black-mailing him somehow."

Saito motioned with his hands across his lips. "My lips are sealed."

Daniel flicked his new card into his hand zone. "Fine, I'll beat you and then find out what you did. First I switch Wolf Demon Lord to defense mode." The samurai sheathed its sword and fell to one knee.

Then he motioned to one of his cards and it launched up into the air, revealing a red mechanical dragon with its wings folded into its body. "Then I play Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600) in defense mode. End turn."

Saito drew and his smile widened. "Guess what Cur?" He flicked his next card into the air. It grew and flipped, a second Blue-Eyes White Dragon appearing on the field. "You're out of luck!" He motioned to one of his hand zone cards and it flipped over. "Stop Defense on your Demon Lord!" The card released its bolts of lightning and hit the Wolf Demon Lord, switching it into attack mode. It redrew its sword and stood up again.

Saito lifted his hand slowly and pointed at the Wolf Demon Lord. "Good-bye! Burst Stream!" The Blue-Eyes White Dragon unleashed its attack and blew the Demon Lord into pieces.

Daniel's upper lip curled a little. "Sorry Saito, but when Wolf Demon Lord is destroyed in battle I don't take any damage. You wasted your card."

Saito grinned and pointed at Jinzo. "Burst Stream!" There was a flash of light and the metal monster was gone. Then he motioned to one of his hand zone cards. "You think I'm worried. Reveal Draining Demise! As long as this continuous trap is on the field you lose one card off the top of your deck for each level star of every monster I destroy in battle. Since you just lost a sixth level monster, you lose the top six cards of your deck!"

Daniel grimaced as a spectral hand exploded out of the ground, drew six cards off the top of his deck, and then yanked itself back into the earth.

Saito nodded to now sweating Half-Demon. "Make your move. It had better be a good one though."

Daniel snapped a card off of his deck, glanced at it, and then flicked it into his hand zone. "Don't think I'm beaten yet." He motioned to the far card on his right side and it flung itself into the air. It flipped over to show a robot with its numerous bladed arms folded in on itself. "Mechanical Chaser (1850/850) in defense mode! End turn!"

Saito drew and burst into helpless laughter. "It's been a fun duel, but it looks like Seto Kaiba's dragons are going to wipe you out once more." He flicked his drawn card into the air and the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon materialized from it. "Ready to meet the Ultimate beast? Reveal Polymerization!" The next card he pointed at launched into the field and flipped over, sucking the three dragons into it. There was an explosion of light and when it cleared an impossibly large white-scaled dragon with three heads was in the air above him. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! (4500/3800) Attack his Mechanical Chaser with Neutron Blast!" The dragon's three head moved close together and charged together one massive blast.

Daniel smirked. "You just made my problem easier to deal with. As one monster they won't be as much of a threat to me."

Saito motioned to another of his hovering cards and it flipped. "The trap card Meteor Rain says otherwise! Now my dragon has the power to deal damage through defense this turn!" The dragon's charging attack began to form a point at the end. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, FIRE!!" The dragon's collective mouths unleashed the attack, the now drill-shaped form of the Neutron Blast about to blow Daniel's Mechanical Chaser and the rest of his life points.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Spirit of the General

Author's Notes: What can I say? Not a lot really. New plot, new bad guy, crazy stuff. Sorry if I am breaking any canons with the Blue-Eyes White Dragons being in Saito's control, but there is a very good reason for this. You'll see why he has Kaiba's dragons in the next chapter. Later.


	3. The Spirit of the Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 3: The Spirit of the Dragon

_Saito motioned to another of his hovering cards and it flipped. "The trap card Meteor Rain says otherwise! Now my dragon has the power to deal damage through defense this turn!" The dragon's charging attack began to form a point at the end. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, FIRE!!" The dragon's collective mouths unleashed the attack, the now drill-shaped form of the Neutron Blast about to blow Daniel's Mechanical Chaser and the rest of his life points._

The blast connected and destroyed the spectral Mechanical Chaser instantly.

Saito grinned. He had done it. Because of him Daniel Pilkington was finished.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared though he could only stare in horror at what he saw. "No...."

Daniel smiled from behind a pulsing field of yellow light. "What's the matter Saito? You look disappointed."

Saito should have known better. ("I must remember that this guy defeated Master Garlin. Therefore he wouldn't be quite so easy to defeat.") "Explain how this is possible."

Daniel pointed at one of his flipped over cards. "Spirit Barrier is a continuous trap that says as long as I possess a monster on my field then I am safe from all life point damage."

Saito nodded, the action more to himself that his opponent. "Alright, take your turn and prepare for annihilation." Daniel's Spirit Barrier faded off the field. "And before you throw a fit, keep in mind continuous card effects only last for one turn in a spirit duel."

Daniel took a deep breath and drew his two cards. ("Please be what I need to get rid of this guy.") He snapped the cards up and he tilted his head to the side a little. ("Hmm...it has possibilities.") He tossed both cards into his hand zone and motioned to one of his other cards. It launched up next to his defense mode Y-Dragon Head and flipped over. "I summon Quicksilver Orb (0/0) in defense mode." A ball of liquid steel appeared on the field. "End turn."

Saito sneered and drew his two. He tossed one of the cards up into the air. "Stop Defense number three!"

Daniel flipped one of his cards. "Spell Shield Type 8 negates any magic card that targets my monsters." The Stop Defense card shuddered and exploded.

Saito frowned and tossed his other card into his hand zone. "You'll pay for that. Ultimate Dragon, attack his Y-Dragon Head! Neutron Blast Attack!" The dragon charged up a quick blast of energy from one of its head and blew the mechanical dragon into pieces. "End turn."

Daniel drew two cards off the top of his deck and he smiled. ("Almost what I need...") He flipped the two cards into his hand zone and motioned to another card at the end. It launched up and materialized into a wolf demon wearing the armor of a samurai. At its side was a pike. "I summon Wolf Demon Soldier (1400/1200) in defense mode. End turn."

Saito drew his card and flicked it into the hand zone. "Neutron Blast Attack, targeting the Quicksilver Orb!" The dragon unleashed its attack and blasted the little ball into nothingness. But as the smoke of the explosion cleared a new creature was in its place.

Daniel pointed up to his creature. "You activated the special summon effect of my Quicksilver Orb. When it is destroyed I may special summon any creature from my hand and play one magic card on it." He grinned as the smoke faded from the form of his creature. "The creature I summoned was a beast called the Dragon Demon Lord." (2400/1000)

Standing on the field was a draconic monster in golden armor. "However, I activated the magic card Lord's Ascension, which transformed the Dragon Demon Lord into the Grand Dragon General." (3000/2500)

Saito frowned. He had seen that creature in the possession of one of Master Garlin's personal emissaries. "What does it do?"

Daniel shrugged nonchalantly. "It just lets me special summon one dragon monster at random from my graveyard per turn."

Saito snorted at how weak of an effect that was. "You don't ever run dragons. How sad. Just take your turn."

Daniel motioned to one of his two remaining cards. "Not just yet. I activate the quick play magic card Call to Arms. This allows me to immediately add one equipment magic card from my hand to one of my monsters." His final card shuddered and launched up to his field. It flipped over and the card itself spat out a crystal spear that landed in the hands of the Grand Dragon General. "Therefore I play the last magic card I have, which is a little something called Revival Spear."

Saito felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Something about this felt wrong... ("He's setting me up for something.")

Daniel drew five cards from his deck and threw them all into his hand zone. ("Ryu....please guide my hand.") He opened his eyes and looked at the cards before him. "You're dead Saito. The duel's mine."

Saito pointed to his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "That little monster of mine has something to say in protest to that. Just try and shut him up."

Daniel pointed at the middle card of his hand. It launched up into the air and flipped over to spit out a golden dragon with shining silver eyes. The creature was covered in golden armoring as well. In fact it looked like it and the Grand Dragon General were meant to be on the field together. "The instrument to your defeat now stands before you Saito. Prepare to lose to the infinite attack combo!"

Saito narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about Cur? You can't expect that thing to beat a fusion of the three most powerful dragons in the game."

Daniel's smile countered that statement though. "Allow me to show you how you're about to lose. First I summoned my Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge (2000/2500) in attack mode." The dragon unleashed a chillingly beautiful screech that sounded like a mix between a snake's hiss and the tinkling of crystals.

Saito still wasn't convinced. "It's got 2000 attack points. If you plan..."

Daniel motioned to another one of his cards. It flipped over and the earth around them shuddered. "I just activated the magic card Exchange of Soul. This switches your graveyard with mine for a turn."

Saito didn't look happy at the moment. Now he knew he was being set up for something. "So, what's this combo?"

Daniel looked over at the Grand Dragon General. "Show him." The monster nodded and lifted its spear into the air. The crystal weapon shimmered and right above the Grand Dragon General's head a bubble appeared. From within it the form of Saitou's Kaiser Dragon appeared, only to explode. Then it appeared and once more exploded. This process picked up in speed until it was only a blur.

And meanwhile the Grand Emperor Dragon's attack points were sky-rocketing. Finally with one last screech the stats stopped rising. (Infinite/2500)

Saito knew about the infinite summon combo. He'd never expected it to be played against him though. "You think I'm afraid? Just attack and you'll see that I am very well defended."

Daniel pointed at the Blue-Eye Ultimate Dragon. "Grand Emperor Dragon, attack the Ultimate Dragon with Solar Stream!" The golden monster opened its jaws wide as a ball of golden light began to build from within its jaws.

Saito motioned to one of his cards and it flipped. "I warned you not to attack. Now you're finished! I activate the trap card Mirror Force!"

Daniel smirked and motioned to one of his cards. It flipped and just like that Saito was defenseless. "Royal Decree is a continuous trap card that negates all traps but itself. That means you lose." The Mirror Force card shuddered and exploded. "Now go Solar Stream!" The Grand Emperor Dragon unleashed a wave of burning light instantly destroyed the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The blast was so strong that for moment the whole dueling field was covered in blinding light.

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As the light faded Daniel opened his eyes to see that Saito was gone. So was the gauntlet he had been wearing too. His deck was back in his pocket though. ("That little cowardly...")

_("Impressive play Daniel. I must admit that I didn't think you even remembered Ryu's infinite attack combo that well.")_

Daniel flushed at the compliment. Amidst the cheers and applause of the gathered students, he walked over to where Saitou had been and noticed that a white piece of something that looked like paper was on the ground.

He picked it up and read where in neat hand-writing someone had written down: _We have her. If you want to see her still amongst the living then be at 7862 Flamingo St. tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m._

Daniel frowned and flipped the piece of paper over. It wasn't a piece of paper, it was a photo. Daniel wiped some mud from it and gasped. As he stared at the picture the message on the back of it played over and over in his mind.

In the picture, sitting in a chair, was his mother, with a gag around her mouth and a gun held against her head.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Dueling with the life of a loved one on the line

Author's notes: I think I have lots of explaining to do on a lot of things, hmm?

1) The infinite attack combo is long-winded. If you don't quite remember it look up chapter 39 of this story for a refresher course.

2) I know I said I would into how Saito got the Blue-Eyes cards, but it occurred to me that I was getting into too many pieces of the new plot-line at once. All will be explained about that, so please be patient.

3) The Spirit Duel had odd rules and life point totals. I did it on a whim and because I had just watched the Yugioh Movie (The Japanese one, not the English one with Anubis in it) and divine inspiration had taken over.

Anyhow, please read and review. And also excuse this poor fool of an author for giving you such a short chapter. I promise the next one will be better. Later.


	4. Dueling with the life of a loved on the ...

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 4: Dueling with the life of a loved one on the line

_He picked it up and read where in neat hand-writing someone had written down: **We have her. If you want to see her still amongst the living then be at 7862 Flamingo St. tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m.**_

_Daniel frowned and flipped the piece of paper over. It wasn't a piece of paper, it was a photo. Daniel wiped some mud from it and gasped. As he stared at the picture the message on the back of it played over and over in his mind. _

_In the picture, sitting in a chair, was his mother, with a gag around her mouth and a gun held against her head._

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The rest of the day passed like a blur to Daniel. He didn't show any of his friends what he had seen on the photo. After all, there wasn't any reason to get them involved. ("No...I'll do this myself. Whoever Saito works for is going to regret daring to involve my mother. I'll kill him with my own hands if he dares to hurt her...")

Throughout the rest of the day Rikuo had been fairly silent inside his host's mind, but eventually curiosity go the better of him. _("Let's start with this. Are you sure that it is even her in that photo?")_

Daniel turned his head to look out the window of the classroom. ("I don't care. It might be too big of a gamble for most, but I've got nothing to lose.")

Rikuo scoffed and started to tick off things on his proverbial fingers. _("Now let's see...you have Rebecca, your friends, your future, ME! Of course you have things to lose!")_

Daniel winced at the intensity of his other self's voice. ("Point taken....but...")

Rikuo's snarl of disgust stopped him before he could make an excuse. _("You're playing the martyr in this. What about your mother? Can you alone save her?")_

Daniel frowned slightly and sarcastically replied, ("Well I am the Centennial Wolf.")

Rikuo growled and his voice started to fade. _("Without me you're nothing but another weakling human. If you want my help in this then you had best talk to your friends. Otherwise, you can deal with this entire situation on your own.")_

Daniel returned the growl loudly, startling most of the class. He leapt up out of his chair and grabbed his backpack. "Fine Rikuo! I'll deal with the entire situation myself!!" He stomped right past his teacher and threw the door to the classroom open.

Almost as an afterthought he looked behind him and said, "Teacher, I'm going home for the day. Sorry if I interrupted your lesson." Then he turned and left.

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The minute Daniel had returned home he went up to his room and made a call to Rebecca's school. After making sure that she had a ride home he took out his deck and got to work. ("They're going to be expecting me to use the strategies that beat Giovan Garlin. They'll be in for a surprise.")

Recently Daniel had acquired some new cards and now he was ready to actually look them over and see if he could use them. ("By the time I am done they won't stand a chance of winning against me.")

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Hours later, Daniel finally looked up from the piles of cards in front of him. He stared at the hundred card deck in front of him for a few seconds...then he stood up and went over to his window. Sliding it open, he put his head out of it and screamed loudly into the night. Then he closed the window and went back to his desk.

As he disassembled the stack of cards in front of him, he put his palm to his forehead and sighed. Normally he could do this easily, but something was wrong with him as of lately. He felt unfocused and tired. ("Maybe it's some kind of side effect of Rikuo cutting himself off from me.") He clenched his fists and got back to work. His deck wasn't going to make itself.

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He looked at the final product of his deck and nodded weakly. ("That's as good as it's gonna get.") He stood up and collapsed in his bed. He had been at this for at least ten hours and now it was time to sleep.

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That next morning he was awoken by Rebecca, who was screaming at him to get up and drive her to school. He nodded, yawned, and then fell back asleep.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes and came back into his room with a cup of coffee. She gave him one warning and when he didn't comply she upended it over his head.

Twenty minutes later a very tired, unhappy, and now sticky Daniel dropped his sister off from school and went home. He looked at his clock, set the alarm to go off at 4:00, and then collapsed in a heap on his bed. ("Sleep...") Seconds later, he was snoring again.

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When the alarm went off, Daniel proceeded to throw the screeching device against the wall and trudge into the shower. Half an hour later, he was cleaned and ready, though he still felt exhausted. ("Maybe I should ask Rikuo.....")

He stopped that train of thought right there. This was his battle and he was going to get it done on his own. After eating a heavy meal to refill a stomach that hadn't eaten for twenty-four hours, he grabbed his duel disk and got into his truck.

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When he arrived at the location that the photo had told him to go, he pulled his truck up at the curb and climbed out. Grabbing his duel disk and the leather-sheathed Howling Sword from his passenger seat, he sluggishly thought, ("Here we go...")

He saw the numbers on the side of the building and nodded. Attaching the disk to his arm he walked up to the door of the building, which looked like it was originally a gymnasium of some kind. He looked around the cavernous and dark area casually. After a few minutes of silence he looked at his watch and saw that it was exactly 6:00. ("So where's my mother!?") He screamed from within his head.

As if on cue bright light flooded the area from the overhead lamps and a cold voice casually said, "Greetings Daniel Pilkington."

Covering his eyes with his hand to avoid being blinded by the sudden change in light, Daniel couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. "Where's my mother!!?"

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw who he was confronting. It was an aged Japanese man in a black suit. He ran his wrinkled fingers through his graying beard and snickered. "You seem surprised."

Daniel's eyes adjusted quickly and his hand reached to the sheathed Howling Sword at his hip. "Shut up. Show me my mother or I swear I will cut you down right now."

The aged man nodded and snapped his fingers. A monitor rolled down from the celing right above his head. The picture is showed was of a video feed of some kind of steel room, where his mother sat tied to a chair, gagged, and blind-folded. "There she is boy."

Daniel's duel disk was already clicking into place. "I already know what your want. So let's get it over with."

The man bowed his head a little. He lifted his right arm, which was wearing a silver and black duel disk. "No friendly banter at all? That's fine with me. I am a member of the Shadow Corporation board of directors. You may call me Aishito."

Daniel drew his hand of five. "I could care less. Once I've beaten you then you will die."

Aishito drew his five. "Alright, but that means if you lose your mother will die. So let's begin."

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Deondre yawned and glanced at his watch. ("6:00? Wow, I spent way too long at Tim Boal's Comic Oasis.") Not that it wasn't time well spent. He had managed to collect the rest of the cards he needed for his new strategy.

As he pulled his car around the corner of the street though, he saw something that made him skid to a stop. ("Daniel's truck? Here?") He drove a little ways down the street and parked. Grabbing his backpack from his passenger seat, he hopped out of the car.

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Daniel drew his sixth and fought off the wave of dizziness that threatened to bring him to his knees. ("I must be more tired then I thought.") He looked his hand of cards over. He knew what every card did, but he was having trouble remembering the combos. One card caught his eye though. ("Quicksilver Orb. That'll do as a starter.") He took the card out of his hand and slapped it onto his disk. "I summon Quicksilver Orb. (0/0) End turn." A plain metal ball appeared on his field.

Aishito drew his sixth card and gently placed down one monster. "I summon Shiraku the Mystic (1600/1500) in attack mode." A man dressed in white robes appeared on Aishito's field and began to chant in a heavenly voice. "Now Shiraku, attack his Quicksilver Orb!" The spellcaster raised his palms and aimed them at the metal ball. He chanted a short spell and a ball of white light flew across the field to instantly blast the little orb into nothing.

Daniel smiled weakly and grabbed a card out of his hand, slapping the card onto his disk. "Nice play, but that triggers the effect of my Quicksilver Orb. It allows me to summon one monster from my hand to the field." A metal humanoid in green armor appeared on his field. "That means now you're going to have to get through my best monster, Jinzo!" (2400/1500)

Aishito chuckled darkly. "Do you even realize what your mistake has been yet?"

Daniel rubbed his eyes and tried his best to glare at aged man. "What are you talking about? What mistake could I have possibly have made?"

Aishito sighed. "Look at the life point totals."

Daniel glanced down at his disk and his sunken eyes widened.

Daniel- 6400

Aishito- 8000

Aishito scratched at his beard in interest. "You didn't even realize that you played your monster in attack mode?"

Daniel snickered. "Of course I did. It's all part of my plan." ("I CAN'T BELIEVE I MADE SUCH AN AMATEUR MISTAKE! ARGH!")

Aishito looked at Daniel's Jinzo for a moment and snickered, sliding a card from his hand into his disk. "You're losing your touch boy. How did you beat Giovan anyway?"

Daniel drew and frowned. He still felt as scatter-minded as ever. ("What's wrong with me!? Why can't I concentrate?") "I beat him the same way that I am going to beat you." He slapped a monster onto his disk next to Jinzo. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode! Fire!" A yellow and blue robot appeared on his field and fired a blast of white energy at Aishito's Shiraku.

Pressing a button on his duel disk, Aishito cackled. "Reveal Offerings to the Doomed! This will destroy your Jinzo instantly!" The flipped up card spat out a beam of red light that immediately blew Daniel's favorite monster apart. As he slid the card into his graveyard Aishito snickered. "And all it costs me is my next draw step. A small price to pay all in all, wouldn't you say?"

The blast from Daniel's X-Head Cannon collided with Shiraku the Mystic, blowing him into pieces. "And now the special ability of my destroyed monster is activated. At the cost of a measly 1000 life points I may activate any magic card from my graveyard. So I reactivate Offerings to the Doomed, this time targeting your X-Head Cannon!" His graveyard slot spat out another beam of red light. It struck the yellow and blue monster, blowing it apart as well. "And you know what the best part of it all is. I'm only losing one draw phase for the price of two of your monsters."

Daniel- 6400

Aishito- 6800

Daniel grimaced and looked down at his hand. ("Now that Jinzo is gone I can use these two traps. But still....".) The way this guy was playing was very clever. He knew how to manage his cards properly. "Alright Aishito, let's see you follow-up with your move. I set these two cards face-down and end my turn."

The dark-suited man looked at his hand and nodded. "If that's what you want, then let me be giving for once in my life." He snatched a card from his hand and slid it into his disk. "First I'll play Pot of Greed to replenish my lost cards."

Daniel grinned tiredly at his luck. "Thanks for letting me draw two new cards Aishito."

Aishito glared. "What are you going on about boy? Pot of Greed says that I draw two cards, not you."

Daniel motioned to his one of his face-down cards, which immediately flipped face-up. "When I activate my Spirit Mirror it allows me to change the target of one magic card that targets a player. Your Pot of Greed effect just back-fired on you." He slid his trap into the graveyard and then drew two cards from his deck.

Aishito slid a card from his hand into his disk. "Oh really? Let's make you regret that action. I play the magic card Give and Take. At the end of this turn you are going to have to discard a card from your hand for every card you have drawn."

Daniel bit his lower lip in frustration. He quickly racked his brain for what two cards to discard, but he still couldn't remember his combos very well.

Aishito slid his second to last card into his disk. "Now I set this card face-down and summon another Shiraku in attack mode." The white-robed form of his spellcaster reappeared on the field, chanting in its heavenly voice once more. "End turn."

Daniel frowned and couldn't decide which two cards to get rid of. Finally he just grabbed the two left ones and slid them into his graveyard. Then he drew one card off the top of his deck and immediately regretted discarding those two cards. ("There was a combo I could have used against him if I had thought about my actions. Why am I so tired all of a sudden!? I got a good few hours of rest, so I shouldn't be this bad off.")

Aishito snickered once again. "Maybe you should have thought before you acted, hmm?"

Daniel growled and slapped down a monster. "I set one monster in defense. End turn."

Aishito drew and cackled once again. "Get ready to experience the power of my deck's special weapon." He slid the card into a slot on his duel disk. "I play the magic card Living Nightmare. This continuous magic card allows me to pay 1000 life points to force you to discard a card in your hand."

Even in his drained state Daniel knew that didn't bode well for him. "If you really want to go and drain your life points, who am I to stop you?"

Aishito flipped his other face-down card. "By playing the continuous magic card Spell Economics, I don't have to pay life points for any magic card costs. You know what that means right?" He sneered darkly as Daniel slid his hand into his graveyard. "That's right. This two card combo forces you to discard your entire hand on each of my turns." His voice had risen to a fevered pitch. "In other words boy, your mother will die before this night is done!"

As much as Daniel wanted to protest, he just didn't have the strength anymore. ("I...can't....lose...")

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Deondre had tried to get into the gym from the front, but the door had been locked. When he had gone around the back way though he had discovered something interesting. There was a helicopter up on the roof of the building, with a rope ladder leading down the wall to the back of the alley. ("Hmm....what's all this about?")

"Well look at what we have here. If it isn't Pilkington's cheering squad." A voice from behind him said.

Deondre spun around and saw that his exit out of the alley had been cut off.

Saito smirked and tossed a steel grey gauntlet at Deondre's feet. "Master Aishito told me to deal with all interlopers, so let's see if you have the guts to accept my challenge."

Deondre narrowed his eyes. He took off his backpack, removed his deck from one of its side-pockets, and then tossed it aside. He picked up the gauntlet and slid his deck in. "Trust me, I'm up for it. However, if I win you're going to give up those three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Kaiba may be a lot of things, but even he doesn't deserve to have his favorite card stolen from him."

Saito snorted derisively. "I never stole his dragons. He gave them to my real master, who in turn gave them to me for safe-keeping."

Now it was Deondre's turn to snort. "Please tell me that you don't think I am so stupid as to believe that. He would never give up his precious Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

Saito smiled coolly. "It's true. You'd be surprised how eagerly he did it too. I can understand why though. He either gave us his dragons or we kill one of our hostages."

Deondre echoed, "Hostage?"

Saito nodded. "Mokuba Kaiba was too easy to kidnap from right under Kaiba's nose. As long as we have him the smug bastard has no choice but to obey our ever whim."

Deondre's hands trembled at his sides. "You monsters." His fists clenched tighter and tighter. "Now that I know that piece of information, I can't lose. You hear me Saito? This will be an all-or-nothing duel! The loser dies."

The grin on Saito's face widened. "This is rich! Are you telling me that you challenge me to a darkness game?"

Deondre's face was set in stone. "That's right. Saito Hiroshi, I challenge you to a darkness game!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A sudden burst of power

Author's Notes: Wow, I think Daniel and I are having the same problems. While I was typing from his POV I felt kinda tired myself. I think I get way too involved in my own stories. Anyway, review please!

Also, I have a couple of advertisements for you. The first one is the fic "Master of the Cards" by Chuck ZFB. It's a story about three kids who get transported to something like an AU version of the world of Yugioh. A little bit of the idea from my Spirit Duel rule settings came from that, so I thought in the spirit of fair play I give him an advertisement.

The other is for my sister's story, Angel Duelist's Legacy. It's a fic that has all of the same characters as Demon Duelist Legacy, though the POV is more from Rebecca's side of it all. It happens two months after the Shadow Tournament arc of my story. As a little side note, her story doesn't possess any spoilers involving Season three, if that is a worry in your mind. I proofread all of her work myself before she posts it. It might not be up yet, so if you want to read it put RoseAngel82 on author alert.


	5. A sudden burst of power

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 5: A sudden burst of power

_Aishito flipped his other face-down card. "By playing the continuous magic card Spell Economics, I don't have to pay life points for any magic card costs. You know what that means right?" He sneered darkly as Daniel slid his hand into his graveyard. "That's right. This two card combo forces you to discard your entire hand on each of my turns." His voice had risen to a fevered pitch. "In other words boy, you're mother will die before this night is done!"_

_As much as Daniel wanted to protest, he just didn't have the strength anymore. ("I...can't....lose...")_

Aishito pointed at Daniel's face-down monster. "Shiraku attack his defender!" The spellcaster charged up a ball of bright white that flew across the field and blew Daniel's face-down monster apart.

Daniel grimaced and tried to summon up the strength to draw his next card. With visible effort he managed to draw the top card of his deck. He stared at it, trying to will his vision to clear enough for him to see what the card was. By the color of the card itself, he could tell it was a magic card. ("If...left....hand....gone...must....set...") He slid the card into his duel disk and nearly fainted with the effort.

Aishito drew and slid his newest card into his disk. "Now I play the magic card Monster Reborn. Take a wild guess what monster I am going to bring back under my control."

Even in his nearly unconscious state, Daniel was able to groan. "...Jinzo..."

Aishito snickered as the green armored humanoid appeared on his field. It didn't chuckle though, like when Daniel had summoned it. "That's right little boy. Now my monsters, attack his life points directly!" The two creatures fired their attacks, which mixed into a pulsing ball of light and dark energy.

When it hit Daniel was thrown back against the gymnasium wall heavily. He landed on his knees and coughed up a small spray of blood.

Daniel- 2400

Aishito- 6800

Aishito smirked and motioned to his opponent. "End turn. Now either draw or say good-bye to your mother."

Daniel couldn't hear him though. The duelist had already lost consciousness.

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_Saito nodded. "Mokuba Kaiba was too easy to kidnap from right under Kaiba's nose. As long as we have him the smug bastard has no choice but to obey our every whim."_

_Deondre's hands trembled at his sides. "You monsters." His fists clenched tighter and tighter. "Now that I know that piece of information, I can't lose. You hear me Saito? This will be an all-or-nothing duel! The loser dies."_

_The grin on Saito's face widened. "This is rich! Are you telling me that you challenge me to a darkness game?"_

_Deondre's face was set in stone. "That's right. Saito Hiroshi, I challenge you to a darkness game!"_

Saito frowned as the air around them pulsed and twisted into a sphere of black and purple light. ("How did he do that? He shouldn't have been able to invoke the powers of a darkness game. Only I should have been able to do that. It's no matter though, he'll be destroyed very soon.") He drew five cards from his gauntlet and threw them into the darkness above him. They all came back down much larger and surrounding him in a half-circle. "Alright then, I suggest you get ready to lose your soul in this place."

Deondre looked down at the gauntlet and nodded. ("When Daniel dueled him before using these rules he needed to turn into his demon form. Maybe I bit off more then I could chew this time.") It was too late now though. He concentrated and sure enough, his form was surrounded by a faint purple energy. He drew the five cards off of the top of his deck and threw them into the air. He felt each card tug on his soul and drain it of energy as they landed before him in their spiritual forms. In fact he could already feel beads of sweat adorning his forehead. ("I feel like I just ran a mile. Is that how much of a drain it is just to draw the cards themselves? How am I supposed to project them then?")

Saito saw the doubt on Deondre's face and sneered. "Losing your nerve already? Perhaps you should have thought before you acted? Oh well though. There's no escape from this duel now." He motioned to the center card in his card zone. It launched into the air and flipped over to reveal a demonic humanoid covered in spikes that was crouching with its arms in front of it. "I'll begin this spirit duel with Neudoria (1200/800) in defense mode! End turn."

Deondre looked at his five cards apprehensively. He knew that whatever monster destroyed Neudoria would be destroyed itself, and that would leave him wide open to attack next turn. With only 2000 life points, he couldn't let that happen. ("I had better play something small. If this really is tapping into my spirit energy then I can't summon out something too big or else I may lose just because I drained myself. He motioned to one of his side cards and it launched into the field. The card flipped over and spat out a blond-haired magician in a crouching position. "Then I summon Apprentice Magician (400/800) in defense mode! End turn." He was already breathing harder now that he had expended the power to summon the monster.

Saito lazily drew and flicker the card into his hand zone. "You're nothing more then a pitiful human being. What made you think that you could challenge me here?" He motioned to one of his side cards and it flipped. "I activate the magic card Stop Defense! This will switch your Magician into attack mode!" A blast of lightning struck Deondre's monster and it stood up from its crouching position.

Deondre bit his lower lip. ("Crap...")

Saito could finish this duel right now if he had wanted, but what was the fun in that? ("No...I want to watch him drain his life force into these cards before I trample him like the human worm he is.") He motioned to the Neudoria and it stood up from its crouching position. "I switch Neudoria into attack mode. Now attack his monster!" The demon screamed and launched across the field, slashing its claws across the purple robed mage's chest. The Magician screamed in pain and then exploded.

Deondre- 1200

Saito- 2000

Deondre grabbed his chest and fell to one knee, his vision fading in and out as the damage from the attack sucked the very life out of him. The worst part of it all was that when his monster had died he had felt its pain. He had felt the claws slash across his own chest.

Saito snorted at the sight of the human collapsing after only losing one monster. "This is something like comparing a forest fire to a candle flame. You don't have the spiritual strength to face me in this place."

Deondre pulled himself up to one knee and motioned to his gauntlet. It spat out a card that shot into the air and materialized into the form of another Apprentice Magician. "Maybe...but as a duelist I'm your better. Apprentice Magician's special ability allows me to summon a level two or lower spellcaster monster from my deck when it is destroyed in battle. So I summon another Apprentice Magician in defense mode."

Saito sighed at the annoyance and his self-replicating magicians. "You're making this harder then it has to be. Why not just accept oblivion? Prolonging your suffering isn't doing you any good."

Deondre drew a card off of his deck and flicked it into the hand zone. It stayed its normal size for a moment, and then slowly grew to spiritual size. He shuddered as he felt the card consume more of his already almost gone energy. ("This...is too...hard...")

Saito sighed and placed the palm of one hand against his forehead. "This isn't even entertaining anymore. Just surrender and stop wasting my time."

That was the incentive Deondre needed to hear. Calling up his remaining strength he came to his feet and motioned to another of his cards. It slowly lifted into the air and flipped over to reveal a female spellcaster with blue and purple robes. "I summon Magician of Faith (300/400) in defense mode. End turn."

Saito drew a card from his deck and when he looked at it, he chuckled. "I'm done being patient." He flicked it up into the air, where it grew and flipped over. As the face of the card became visible to Deondre, he felt his waning strength grow even weaker. "I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode!" The enormous form of the mighty dragon appeared on the field and roared at Deondre. "He's hungry for a snack. Guess who looks appetizing right now."

Deondre frowned and braced himself for what he knew was coming. ("I have to hold on.")

Saito pointed at the Apprentice Magician. "Wipe it out Neudoria!" The demon howled and flew across the spectral distance, snapping its claws down on the magician and tearing it apart.

This time the drain from his creature's death was too much for Deondre to even hope to use the Apprentice Magician's effect again. He was using his remaining energy just to stay standing.

Saito sighed and pointed at the Magician of Faith. "Now good-bye and good riddance. Burst Stream!" The dragon opened its jaws and released a powerful lump of energy that blew the female magician apart.

Deondre clutched his sides in pain and then he collapsed to the ground, all of his life force gone.

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_Daniel found himself floating in an endless void of shadow. He frowned and assumed that he was somehow back inside his mind with Rikuo somewhere nearby. "Alright Rikuo, come on out!" All that he got in return was silence. "Rikuo?"_

_Now he was afraid. If this wasn't his mind, where was he?_

"_You've been through a lot Daniel," a gentle voice behind him said._

_He spun around to find himself face to snout with an enormous jet black wolf. ".................."_

_The wolf chuckled and took a couple of steps back into the void. "After all of the madness you have been through in the past, this surprises you?"_

_Daniel sighed and shook his head to clear the initial shock. "Not really. So what do you want?"_

"_It's not what I want Daniel, it's what you want."_

_He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What I want?"_

_The wolf nodded. "Think about it. You yourself wanted to handle this on your own. Are you sure that was what you wanted though? Are you really willing to risk the life of your mother, who you barely know or remember, over a matter of pride?"_

_Daniel frowned unhappily. "This is my problem though. I don't want the help of Rikuo, Deondre, CJ or anyone else for that matter."_

_A sigh escaped the wolf's muzzle. "You're a thick-headed kid aren't you? What's so wrong about having any help?"_

_Daniel turned away from the wolf angrily. "You don't understand at all."_

"_Perhaps I don't but once again, is this really the situation to be prideful in? Right now you are passed out on the floor of that gymnasium, and if that wasn't bad enough, Aishito is about to tell his men to execute your mother."_

"_WHAT!?" Daniel spun back around. "GET ME BACK THERE!!!"_

"_I can't. Your body is drained of all of its strength. When you sealed off Rikuo you cut your soul in half. Right now you are drained of all of your power. That leaves you only one avenue of revival."_

_Daniel growled and turned away. "Damn you..."_

_The wolf shrugged its massive shoulders. "I don't make the rules of life kid."_

_Daniel sighed. "Alright...you win."_ ("Rikuo?")

_("What the hell do you want ningen?")_

("Save my mother, and kill the Shadow Corporation bastard that dared to threaten her.")

_(".........Fine.")_

_The wolf sighed. "Was it really that hard?"_

_Daniel didn't answer him though. He let the void claim him and drift into sleep._

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Aishito cackled once more as he pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open and hit the speed-dial for his henchmen on the roof. As soon as he heard a voice answer on the other line he snickered. ("Too bad boy.") "Kill..."

"Not so fast Aishito. This duel isn't over yet." A gruff voice from behind him said.

He turned to find himself facing the wolf demon Rikuo. "Ah, I was wondering if you were going to show up or not."

Rikuo grinned and stretched his neck out a little. "I would never miss a party where killing a Shadow Corporation member is one of the party games."

Aishito sneered. "Look at the life point totals and the fields. I'm in the lead and I'm in best position to win. So don't get all high and mighty on me because you're a demon. In this duel you are nothing."

Rikuo drew and looked at his card. He smiled just enough to reveal a fang. "Oh I beg to differ Aishito. In fact watch as your entire strategy crumbles around you before this turn is over. For you see I play..."

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Saito sighed and watched as the smoky darkness of the orb surrounding them began to engulf Deondre's body, intent on absorbing his soul. "This was a pitiful duel. I was expecting him to at least be a little bit of a challenge." He watched as the last tendril of the darkness fell over Deondre's face and he was gone.

A few seconds passed and then calm laughter could be heard from all around Saito. "Oh...I'm sorry," A voice from within the darkness said. "Did you think it was over?" The darkness of the orb cleared to reveal Deondre, now standing and surrounded in an impossibly strong purple aura of spiritual energy. "Did you think that I was beaten?"

Saito stared in confusion at the suddenly recharged duelist. "That's...not possible. You are a normal human. Your energy was completely gone. How is this possible?"

Deondre looked down at his hands, and then he brought his eyes up to give Saito a look that seemed to burn into his soul. "I'm a normal human? If anyone here is a normal human, it is you. I on the other hand..." His lip curled into a smirk. "Am far from a normal human."

Saito snarled. "You think you can win in this spirit duel against me? I highly doubt your pitiful deck can withstand the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, mister...?"

Deondre chuckled. "Since you are going to lose your soul, I will give you my name." The darkness of the orb fully reformed as the darkness game came back into effect. "I am Valeus, your executioner."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Pushing back

Author's notes: Hello everyone! Not much to say about this except that if you guys have a question for me then please post it in your review. Alright, later.


	6. Pushing back

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 6: Pushing Back

_Rikuo drew and looked at his card. He smiled just enough to reveal a fang. "Oh I beg to differ Aishito. In fact watch as your entire strategy crumbles around you before this turn is over. For you see I play..."_

"...the magic card Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards off the top of my deck." He drew his two cards and laughed. "I love it when I get to do this."

Aishito frowned angrily. "Get to do what?"

"Get to turn a bad duel around, of course." He slid one of his two cards into his duel disk. "First I activate the magic card Brain Control, which allows me to seize control of your monster for one turn." He snapped his clawed hand up to point at Jinzo. "So come to me Jinzo!" A purple brain appeared on his field and shot out a wave of pulsing energy. It hit Jinzo and the metal monster was pulled over to Rikuo's field.

Aishito snickered. "It's only for one turn."

Rikuo slid his next card into his duel disk. "One turn is all the time I need. I play Monster Reborn to revive one of the two monsters that Daniel discarded to the graveyard because of your Give and Take magic effect. I'm sure if you know Daniel's deck so well then you know what the best fusion he has is right?"

Aishito grimaced. "So that's what you are going to summon?"

Rikuo nodded as the armor-clad demon known as the Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) appeared on his field. "Right. Reveal face-down card, Polymerization!" The two creatures slid into each other, a vortex forming on the field where they connected. When the vortex cleared a being that looked like the Wolf Demon Lord wearing Jinzo's steel armor appeared on the field. "Aishito, you're finished! Steel Wolf General (3400/2000), attack his Shiraku now!" The metal monster launched across the field and in one slash Aishito's mystic was destroyed.

Daniel- 2400

Aishito- 5000

Aishito chuckled. "Did you forget the special ability of my Shiraku the Mystic? When he is destroyed in battle I may play any magic card from my graveyard for the paltry payment of a 1000 life points. So I'll pay that 1000 life points so that I can activate the magic card Offerings to the Doomed!"

Daniel- 2400

Aishito- 4000

A red beam of light exploded from his graveyard and hit the Steel Wolf General, blowing it apart. "That's the end of your ultimate monster!" He sneered at the prospect of seeing the mighty demon general Rikuo Amero sweat. That wasn't the reaction he got though.

Rikuo burst into laughter. A full minute passed and finally the demon calmed down enough to explain. "You've just destroyed yourself and you don't even realize it."

Aishito narrowed his eyes angrily. "You're bluffing demon. With your Steel Wolf General gone your life points are wide open to attack."

Rikuo sighed and wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye. "I needed a good laugh. Thank you very much for delivering it and a victory to me." Apparently he wasn't listening to his opponent.

Aishito's business-like exterior was starting to melt beneath the burning rage he felt at being laughed at. "DON'T TOY WITH ME!!!"

Instantly Rikuo was calm, his eyes shimmering with an intensity that only a general who saw victory in sight could accomplish. "Fine. The special ability of Steel Wolf General is that when he is destroyed I may special summon Wolf Demon Lord from my graveyard to the field." The ground in front of him exploded in a spray of holographic dirt and the demon samurai leapt back onto the field. "Then I flip up my face-down trap card, Call of the Haunted."

The ground next to the Wolf Demon Lord shuddered and another form exploded free of the ground. "This trap allows me to revive one monster from my graveyard. That means Jinzo returns to this field." The metal monster crossed its arms across its chest and chuckled coldly.

"Now take a look at your field. All you have is the combo that forces me to discard my hand. Add that to the fact that your Offerings to the Doomed magic card stops you from drawing a card next turn..."

Aishito finished the sentence for Rikuo, his eyes wide. "...and that means I've lost."

Rikuo snickered. "And here I thought the idiot was in trouble. He had the entire win needed for this duel right in front of him."

Aishito reached into his coat pocket slowly for his gun, only to find the tip of a claw touching his neck.

"Now now, play nice or else I might just have to hurt you," Rikuo said from right next to him. "Give the boy back his mother, and get out of here. I don't feel like spilling your black blood this evening." He removed his claw from Aishito's neck and motioned to the back door. "Well? Are you going to take me there or am I going to have to carry you? Either way is fine with me."

Aishito tugged on his tie and tried to salvage what remained of his thoroughly destroyed dignity. "I can take you there with my own two feet, thank you very much."

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_Saito snarled. "You think you can win in this spirit duel against me? I highly doubt your pitiful deck can withstand the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, mister...?"_

_Deondre chuckled. "Since you are going to lose your soul, I will give you my name." The darkness of the orb fully reformed as the darkness game came back into effect. "I am Valeus, your executioner."_

Saito rolled his eyes at the cliché line. "My turn is done, so let's see if you can make that fool's deck work for you. By the way, what are you anyway?"

Valeus waved a finger at his opponent. "I'm not telling." He drew a card off the top of the deck, glanced at it, and a smile broke out across his face. "What a perfect draw for this situation." He flicked the card into the air above him. "I summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode." The phantasmal form of the purple-robed sorcerer appeared in the air above him, limed in Valeus's own purple spiritual energy.

Saito rolled his eyes at how cliché this entire duel was becoming. "Let me guess; now you activate the magic card Magical Silk Hats?"

Valeus chuckled. "My, how'd you guess?" He motioned to one of his cards and it launched into the field next to the Dark Magician. It flipped over and the area around the Dark Magician was shrouded in fog for a few seconds. When the fog cleared all that was left were four black silk top hats where the Dark Magician had been.

Valeus motioned to another card in his hand zone. "That's not all though. I also set one trap card within my Magical Silk Hats." The hats above him began to shuffle rapidly, until they were one big black blur. Then the card shot into the blur and disappeared. Then the hats came to a complete stop, looking exactly the same as they did before. "End turn."

Saito drew and chuckled. "I hope you consider yourself a very lucky man, because I'm about to turn your entire strategy into nothing."

Valeus narrowed his eyes slightly. "Let's see what you are talking about. Prove to me that I am actually in trouble."

Saito flicker his new card into the air above him. "Fine. First I summon another Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode." Another of the enormous white scaled dragons appeared on his field roaring, the sound loud enough to shake the ground slightly.

Valeus crossed his arms across his chest and waited patiently. "By all means, finish me off if you can."

Saito motioned to another of his cards. It flipped over and released a burst of light that hit one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons. "I activate the equipment magic card Fairy Meteor Crush! This allows my dragon to deal damage through defense!"

Valeus shrugged casually, almost as it didn't bother him that if he lost his soul would be destroyed. "Whatever you say. I'm sure that your little play might impress an amateur, but then again..." He smiled, "I'm not an amateur."

Saito growled and pointed at the far left hat. "You can talk big, but consider who is on the defensive right now! Blue-Eyes, Burst Stream!" One of the two dragons charged up its energy attack from between its jaws and it spat out a bullet of light towards the silk top hat.

Valeus chuckled. "Wow, you found the Dark Magician. That's a first." He motioned to one of his floating cards. "It's a shame that I have this trap in my hand." The card flipped and all of the Magical Silk Hats on the field blurred. "You see Shift will allow me to change the target of your attack to another of my Silk Hats. And guess which one your dragon is going to be attacking."

Saito turned a lovely shade of white. "The one with the trap card in it...."

Valeus smirked. "Bingo."

The Burst Stream hit the hat and the silk article exploded. As the smoke from the explosion cleared a card backing came into sight. The card spun around and released a glowing bullet that looked exactly like the Burst Stream that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon had just fired. It shot across the field and slammed in Saito's Nuedoria, blowing the demon apart.

Valeus- 1200

Saito- 200

Valeus closed his eyes and smiled. "You've hit my Magic Cylinder trap card, which reflects your dragon's attack right back at your field. And since Nuedoria was destroyed by the attack of your Blue-Eyes White Dragon, take a wild guess at who its effect will be targeting."

Saito blanched as the remains of his Nuedoria shot across the air and slashed his Blue-Eyes dragon into pieces. He took one small consolation in all of it though. "You're still in trouble. You've just destroyed the dragon that had already attacked, so I still get one attack with my other dragon." He pointed at the center hat. "Burst Stream!" The Blue-Eyes White Dragon charged up a lump of energy within its jaws and released it, blasting the silk hat into nothingness.

Valeus smirked and motioned to the space where the hat used to be. "Sorry Saito, but no cigar. The Dark Magician resides within one of the other two hats on my field." He drew three cards and flicked them into his hand zone. "Now let's see if luck is on my side. I conceal another trap within my final empty hat." He motioned to a card on his field and it flew into one of the two hats. Then the two hats blurred slightly as they rearranged themselves. "End turn."

Saito drew twice and flicked the cards into his hand zone. Then he motioned to one of his side cards. It shot into the air and spun around, spitting out the huge scaled form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "I play Monster Reborn on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Valeus sighed and shook his head. "You're even more reliant on the damn things than Kaiba is."

That was the last straw for Saito. He motioned to one of his other cards and it shot into the air to reveal the final Blue-Eyes. "I've had enough of your insults! Blue-Eyes, wipe out his right hat with Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up its attack and fired. The bullet of light rocketed across the field to annihilate the hat and its contents.

Valeus chuckled. "That's pretty cute kid. You've guessed right twice where the Dark Magician is. Unfortunately..." He motioned to one of his side cards. "I have another Shift in my hand." The two hats exchanged positions and the trapped hat was destroyed. As the smoke cleared a glowing circle appeared around the dragon. "That means you've triggered my Spell-Binding Circle trap card, which locks up your dragon and drains it of 700 attack points."

Saito looked up at the trapped dragon and snorted. "You were there when I said that continuous trap cards fade at the end of the turn. Your trap was a waste of time."

Valeus pointed to one of his cards. "Not quite. I activate the trap card Counter Strike, which allows my Dark Magician to attack one monster on your field immediately." The last Magical Silk Hat vanished, leaving the Dark Magician hovering in the air a couple of feet from the trapped dragon, staff raised. "Good-bye Saito."

Saito's eyes widened as he looked at his hand zone. He didn't have any traps to deal with the Dark Magician's attack. "No, you can't!"

Valeus snorted. "Just watch me. Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician unleashed a blast of inverted light that instantly blew away the dragon.

Valeus- 1200

Saito- 0

Saito didn't even get a chance to scream before the darkness around him fell like a curtain, consuming him instantly. As the darkness cleared, Valeus walked over to the three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards sitting on the ground and picked them up. He smirked and slid them into his pocket. ("Quite the prize I just won.")

Now that he was done dueling, he stopped for a second to look himself over. The first thing he noticed was that he was dark-skinned. He frowned and tugged on his strange clothing, and then rubbed his new chin. "Interesting indeed. Was this boy some kind of visitor from a foreign land?" He heard the sound of a door opening farther down the alley and he slid up slowly, poking his head around the corner to see who it was.

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Rikuo kept his sword inches from Aishito's body at all times, smirking. "If you dare to try anything against me, you'll find yourself dead before you ever get a chance to see me fall."

Aishito wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. He needed to figure out a way out of this situation and quickly. Suddenly his captor stopped and sniffed the air. "What's the matter now dog? Smell something nice in that garbage can?"

Rikuo glanced over at the turning point in the small alley. Something or someone was there, and whoever they were, they possessed incredible powers. He turned his attention back to Aishito. "Get moving and take me to the boy's mother. I won't bother giving you the what-if to that statement, since I assume you know just what I can and will do to you, if you dare to double-cross me."

Aishito wiped a few more beads of sweat from his forehead and went over to the rope ladder that led up to the roof.

Rikuo wrapped his free arm around the man's waist and leaped upwards, touching down on top of the roof smoothly. He dropped Aishito unceremoniously to the ground and motioned to the large jet-black helicopter that sat in the middle of the roof. "Well? Go get her."

Aishito slowly got to his feet and trudged towards the helicopter, his hands trembling. ("If he finds out the truth...I'm as good as dead.") He didn't actually have Pilkington's mother. ("But if the demon finds that out...") He didn't wish to imagine just what an enraged demon could do to him.

Rikuo followed his slowly, the Howling Sword still drawn and still ready to fight if it came to such a thing. "You're lagging Aishito. Pick up the pace." He accentuated that by giving the old man a 'gentle' shove in the back.

Aishito stumbled forward a little, using the action to draw his gun. He spun, ready to blow the demon apart.

Rikuo snorted and flicked his wrist, the Howling Sword slashing the pistol's barrel apart. "You humans are really stupid some times. Now get the boy's mother, now!!" The Howling Sword became wreathed in phantom flames. "Or else I show you just what this sword can do to the human body."

Aishito turned and approached the helicopter, pale as a sheet. "You need to understand that..."

"Say another word Aishito and I will do much worse than what that demon could do to you. On that note though....duck."

Aishito dropped to his knees as a beam of bright red light shot right past Rikuo's shoulder, right over his head, and right into the helicopter. The machine whined in protest for a moment and then it exploded, throwing Aishito backwards. Rikuo braced himself against the explosion. As it ended he turned around and looked over at the source of the beam.

A man was standing on the edge of the roof. While he wore the same black suit as Aishito and Giovan had, his long white hair and red eyes told Rikuo something he was already fairly sure of. ("A demon.")

The demon ran a clawed hand through his hair and chuckled. "Rikuo Amero, the mighty CEO killer himself. I'm going to enjoy wiping you out."

Rikuo lifted his sword up and slid into a defensive combat stance. "How so?"

The demon snickered and flexed his claws. "I would challenge you to a darkness game, but my master had requested that you remain alive for his private event." He hopped off the edge of the roof and walked over, casually grabbing the now unconscious Aishito by the back of the neck and tossing him over one shoulder. "Until that time comes, farewell General Amero. Have a pleasant rest of the evening." He turned and leaped off the roof, easily covering the short distances between the buildings as he disappeared into the distance.

Rikuo snarled, resisting the urge to follow. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the time he and Daniel had spent separated from each other had drained them both. He sniffed around the burning remains of the helicopter and frowned. There had been one human in the thing, but it wasn't a female. It had been a man. ("They never had her. Or at least Aishito didn't have her. Daniel's not going to be happy about that.")

_(".........")_ Though Daniel didn't say anything, Rikuo could feel his presence.

("Daniel, don't worry. I have every intention of getting her back. If it wasn't for you I would never have found peace, so it's the least I could do.")

_("I'm going to sleep for a little while. Like a week. Wake me up if anything important happens.")_

Secretly, Rikuo loved it when Daniel gave him control of their body for long periods of time, so he didn't complain.

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Since Rikuo had absolutely no idea how to drive, he had to run back to Daniel's house. Considering evening traffic though, he probably got there faster than if he would have been able to drive.

He walked up to the front door and knocked. A few seconds passed and then the door opened to reveal a very angry Rebecca Pilkington. "Rikuo! Let me talk to Daniel right now!"

Rikuo shook his head. "He's had a very long and troubling evening. No can do."

Rebecca frowned but didn't complain. She'd chew out her brother for leaving her at school without a ride another time. "By the way, he has a guest waiting for him in the living room." She turned and stomped up to her room. "And remind me to give him a couple of good slaps next time I see him." With that said, she went up to her room and got ready for bed.

Rikuo rubbed his eyes with a claw. He should probably let Daniel take over, but in all honesty he didn't care. If this guest of Daniel's was freaked out by seeing him, then so be it. He walked into the living room saying, "If this isn't important then I suggest you come back tomorrow."

The guest calmly said, "I assure you that this is too important to wait until tomorrow for."

Rikuo froze and slowly removed his hand from his eyes. "Well this is surprising indeed."

"Believe me, I'm not here on a personal visit," Seto Kaiba said.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Kaiba's proposition


	7. Kaiba's proposition

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 7: Kaiba's Proposition

_Rikuo rubbed his eyes with a claw. He should probably let Daniel take over, but in all honesty he didn't care. If this guest of Daniel's was freaked out by seeing him, then so be it. He walked into the living room saying, "If this isn't important then I suggest you come back tomorrow."_

_The guest calmly said, "I assure you that this is too important to wait until tomorrow for."_

_Rikuo froze and slowly removed his hand from his eyes. "Well this is surprising indeed."_

"_Believe me, I'm not here on a personal visit," Seto Kaiba said._

Rikuo sighed tiredly and un-belted the Howling Sword, setting the weapon down and then collapsing on a couch that was facing Kaiba, who had chosen to stand. "Alright then Kaiba, what do you want? And please make it quick, I'd like to get to sleep soon."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "You might want to pay attention, because this involves the Shadow Corporation and their higher-ups." He turned away to look out a window near the back of the room.

"Approximately twenty-four hours ago, the Shadow Corporation began to send out its best men to numerous locations all across the globe. They all had orders to locate a certain target and duel them, then return to their base with the information involving that duel. I myself had an Emissary pay me a visit."

"Did you win?" Rikuo already knew the answer. He didn't like Kaiba much more than his other half did, but he held respect for the duelist.

Kaiba continued to look out the window. "Of course I won. The clown they sent to duel me wasn't even a challenge. However, while I was distracted..." He clenched his fists angrily.

Rikuo decided that it was best not to pry, though Kaiba had his interest now. "So what do they want?"

Kaiba answered that question with a question. "Where were you this evening?"

Rikuo with-held his normal answer to a question like that, which would be to tell Kaiba to shut up and mind his own business, because something in the CEO's tone told Rikuo that he knew. "I had business to discuss with a member of the Shadow Corporation's board. After my business was finished they went back on a deal that we had. Now my resolve to ruin them is only intensified."

Kaiba smiled slightly as if that was the answer he had wanted to hear. "Then I should let you know that you are cordially invited to a special Duel Monsters tournament that is being held by the Shadow Corporation tomorrow ."

Rikuo growled. "Anything held by the Shadow Corporation means bad business for everyone involved in it."

Kaiba nodded. "I'm sure you remember just how much fun you had at the last Shadow Corporation tournament."

Rikuo growled quietly as he recollected just how much 'fun' Giovan Garlin's tournament had been. ("Let's see, Daniel and I were almost killed on numerous occasions, I watched the closest thing I could have to a friend die, and I was put through numerous psychological tortures.") "Oh I had loads of fun Kaiba."

Kaiba snickered a little, once again facing away from Rikuo. "Let me ask you something. How would you like to strike back against the Shadow Corporation?"

Rikuo's full attention was on Kaiba. "I'm listening."

Back still turned, Kaiba smiled darkly. "As you should guess, your friends have most likely been put on the list of 'guests' as well. So have Yugi and the Mutt." He turned to face Rikuo, his face expressionless again. "You know what that means right?"

Rikuo remained just as expressionless. "They've got some kind of crazy plan involving all of us."

Kaiba nodded imperceptibly. "Exactly. So let's give them what they want. They'll get us, but they certainly won't like what we'll be bringing with us."

"Enough Kaiba, give this to me straight. I'm very tired right now and in no mood to deal with this espionage crap." Rikuo accentuated that point with a tired glare. He really was in need a good nap.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "They have something of yours and something of mine. In fact, they have something of everyone who is going to be in this tournament. A mutual problem."

Rikuo, even as tired as he was, raised his eyebrows a little. "An alliance? With you?"

Kaiba glared. "Don't try and second-guess me freak. I only came all this way just to make sure that you were coming."

Rikuo glared at Kaiba for the 'freak' comment. ("How can someone who lives in a world like this one still, after everything he has seen, not believe in magic?") "Why would you care?"

Kaiba turned and walked towards the front door. "My reasons are my own. A Kaiba corp. helicopter will be by tomorrow at 8:00 am to pick you up. Make sure you are ready." Rikuo heard the front door open and just like that their conversation was over.

Glancing over at the Howling Sword, Rikuo frowned. ("Looks like we're going to be taking the war to the enemy's turf.") He walked over and drew the blade from its sheath, snapping it back and forth in the air. The well-oiled metal felt the energy of its owner and blue-white phantom flames lit up along the blade. Rikuo smiled at the weapon and willed its power to die down. The flames flared up once, and then slowly died. "And this time, I don't intend to leave any of those manipulative monsters standing."

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Daniel was filled in by Rikuo about the basics of his talk with Kaiba. Despite his personal feelings on any matter involving Seto Kaiba, Daniel knew that this was his best chance to find his mother rested in winning this tournament. He stuffed a couple of changes of clothing into his backpack, and then he went over to his work desk.

Though Rikuo had been tired, he had reworked Daniel's deck last night before going to sleep. Daniel hadn't even looked the cards over yet to see exactly what the wolf demon had placed in there, but he didn't doubt that Rikuo knew what he was doing. ("Plus I trust him to make the right choices when it comes to strategy.")

Centennial High School had been paid off by Shadow Corp. to allow Daniel to have about a week off from his classes, which meant that he wouldn't have anything to distract him while he was there.

Daniel picked up his duel disk and felt the solid weight of the device with one hand. ("Here we go.") He looked over at the clock and sure enough, it was 8:00. Turning, Daniel left a note for Rebecca and slipped silently out the front door. He went to stand at the sidewalk to the house, knowing that Kaiba would back up his part of the deal. He took a second to look himself over, just to make sure that he wasn't forgetting anything.

He just let his wild red hair do what it wished, because after changing so many times with Rikuo, he had quickly figured out that no hair care product could deal with him suddenly having wolf ears and hair that is a lot longer than it originally was.

Just for this occasion, he had put on the black and silver leather bodysuit that Rebecca had made for him before he had left for the Shadow Tournament. He smiled at the leather jacket that had come with it, which still had the howling wolf design on the back that Rikuo loved so much. Tugging on the pouched black leather belt that hung around his waist, Daniel sighed and patted the holster attached to it where his deck was stored.

Then his hand trailed to the sheathed Howling Sword that was tied to his waist. While he still didn't like the idea of the weapon being used against humans, he had to remind himself that he didn't intend to hurt anyone except the monsters who had his mother as their hostage.

Minutes later, the silver form of one of Kaiba's helicopters gave down for a smooth landing right in the middle of the street. Daniel nodded back to his house and got on. It was time to get the Shadow Corporation and its insane little games out of his life.

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The first thing he saw when he climbed into the spacious passenger area of the helicopter was a familiar face. "Hey CJ, I see that you got the 'invitation' too?"

CJ Anderson grinned and held up his right arm, which had his duel disk attached to it. "You know it buddy. It looks like Team Topdeck is going to win another world tournament in the same year."

Daniel laughed and tossed his bag into a nearby empty seat. He collapsed in a seat, buckled himself in, and looked out at the window. "Yeah," he replied half-heartedly, "By the time we are done with them they won't know what hit them."

CJ ran a finger through his deck and nodded. "Oh they'll know what hit them. It'll be me and my ultimate new deck strategy."

Daniel turned his head to look over at his friend. "New deck strategy huh?"

CJ smirked and patted his duel disk. "Oh yeah! We'll win this tournament and then the grand prize will be ours!"

Though Daniel wasn't in this for any prize, he had to ask. "What's the prize?"

CJ shrugged. "I don't know, I thought you might know."

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The helicopter's next stop was to land in front of Deondre's house. As it settled down Daniel looked out the window to see his friend. He slid open the side door and smiled. "Hey there D, how's it going? You ready to win this tournament?"

Valeus had learned a lot since last evening about the world he had entered. Apparently a few hundred years had passed, and everything was different about the world as a whole. He had gotten the invitation to the tournament and he decided that might be the best place to start searching for some way to recover his lost power.

He had managed to find appropriate clothing in the boy's room when he had arrived home. For this apparently special occasion, he had put on a plain black pair of pants and shorts, with a long black cloak that he had fashioned from some bed sheets that were in the boy's closet. He had figured out how to use the system known as a 'duel disk' and now had the device strapped to his arm. He had also taken the boy's deck and made a few little changes to it.

For now though he had to assume the identity of Deondre Anderson, lest the boy's friends might become suspicious of him. Climbing into the strange metal box, he crashed down into a seat and nodded. "Sure."

Daniel considered commenting on the strange new look that Deondre was sporting, but then it occurred to him that he was wearing something that looked far stranger. ("I'm not one to offer fashion tips to him anyway.")

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Less than an hour later, the helicopter arrived at a nearby landing strip. As it settled down to the ground, Daniel looked out to see Seto Kaiba waiting for them. "And there's the man himself." He grabbed his bag and slid the door of the passenger area open. Climbing out, he found himself for the second time today seeing a familiar and friendly face. "Hey Yugi, how have you been?"

Yugi Moto smiled back at Daniel and shrugged. "I can't complain, though I still have a little bit of jet lag from flying half-way across the world."

Daniel smirked and stepped forward. "Well let me be the first to welcome you to America and all of its....er....stuff!"

Yugi laughed and the two duelists walked past Kaiba, catching up on things.

Valeus stepped forward next and smirked to Kaiba. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three cards that he had been holding onto. He extended them to the CEO. "I assume these are yours?"

Kaiba looked down at his three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards and his eyes widened a little. "How did you..."

Valeus handed the cards to Kaiba and walked past him chuckling. ("It was worth losing them just to see that look on his face.")

CJ trailed behind him, hoping that Joey was somewhere around here. He had lately found himself missing the blonde-haired duelist. Their last duel had been one of the best CJ had ever had, and he wanted to see if he could get a rematch out of Wheeler.

As everyone headed inside, Kaiba was still standing in place, staring down at his three dragons. ("So we're back together. Excellent. With your help then I will rescue Mokuba from those monsters.") He slid the three cards into a pocket and turned to head inside. Now it was time to go and meet the Shadow Corporation.

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An hour later Daniel and Yugi were having a practice duel alongside the empty hangar bay. Kaiba had said that they would have a couple of hours before his jet would be ready to take them to the tournament location, so they may as well get some practice in while they had some down time.

Yugi- 1000

Daniel- 2500

Daniel grinned as he motioned to his field. "Give it up Yugi. I've got you trapped." He already had managed to summon both his Jinzo (2400/1500) and XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2300) to the field. It was true that he didn't have any cards in his hand or on his field other then his two monsters, but Yugi wasn't much better off.

Yugi drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "Don't count me out yet Daniel. It's true that you have two powerful monsters on your field, but I've got two face-down monsters and my Swords of Revealing Light out. That means you can't attack me until they run out of power, and that won't be for two more turns." Yugi tried to ignore the fact that he didn't have anything else except the card he had just drawn. He looked at it and smiled. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Daniel drew and slid the card into his graveyard. "I discard to use the special ability of my Dragon Cannon, which will destroy your Swords of Revealing Light and leave you wide open to my attack." The red, yellow and blue tank charged up all of its lasers and fired them all at once, blowing the green swords of light away and leaving Daniel able to attack.

"Now I'll have it take out your first face-down monster." The tank whined as its weapons lowered to point at the card. "Energy Barrage!" It unleashed a wave of lasers that tore the face-down monster apart.

"Next up is the big man himself! Jinzo, Cyber Shock Attack!" The green armored humanoid chuckled coldly and charged a ball of black energy between its palms. It hurled the ball and blew the other face-down monster into dust. "End turn. So take your last draw Yugi."

Yugi drew and smiled. "I'm afraid the only person who is going to lose today is you Daniel." He slid the card into his disk. "Monster Reborn, revive his Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) from the graveyard to my field!" The ground in front of him shuddered and the armored form of the demon samurai appeared on his field.

Daniel chuckled. "Alright Yugi, I'll bite. What's your plan?"

Yugi flipped up his face-down card. "Now I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two cards and looked relieved. "Wow, for a second there I thought I might not be able to pull this off."

"You can't just leave me hanging like this Yugi, what's your plan?" Daniel was really intrigued now.

Yugi slid one of the cards into his duel disk. "Dark Magic Curtain allows me to pay half of my life points to special summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck to the field." A giant black curtain fell over the field and when it moved aside the purple-robed form of Yugi's favorite monster stood on the field.

Yugi- 500

Daniel- 2500

Daniel frowned. "You can kill Jinzo, but my XYZ Dragon Cannon is way too tough."

Yugi slid the last card in his hand into his duel disk. "Remember when Yami and Rikuo battled against Giovan Garlin Daniel?"

"Who could forget?"

The Dark Magician and the Wolf Demon Lord were slowly being pulled into each other now, their bodies melding together to create one creature. "When the stakes were down they managed to pull through thanks to the power of teamwork. Let me give you a reminder that sometimes the strangest combinations work the best." The melded creature looked almost exactly like the Dark Magician, except that had red lines on its cheeks and it was wearing red and black robes. "This is the return of the Dark Magician Lord!" (3500/2500)

Daniel bit his lower lip. He had forgotten that the Dark Magician Lord was a possible fusion. ("This won't be good at all.")

Yugi pointed at the XYZ Dragon Cannon. "Howling Magic Blast!" The magician raised its staff and unleashed a wave of blue-white flame that consumed the tank, shattering it.

Yugi- 500

Daniel- 1800

Yugi nodded to Daniel. "End turn."

Daniel drew and sighed. "I have no choice but to switch Jinzo to defense mode." The metal monster fell to one knee and crossed its arms across its chest. "I'll also set this card face-down. You're up Yugi."

Yugi drew and placed his new monster card down. "Thanks to its special ability, I can special summon Dark Gaia of the Gale (2300/2100) if he is the last card in my hand." A knight on top of a purple horse appeared on the field and charged, slamming its lance right into Jinzo. The machine monster exploded, leaving Daniel wide open. "Now Dark Magician Lord, Howling Magic Blast!" The spellcaster raised its staff up and aimed it right at Daniel.

"Now that Jinzo is off the field Yugi, allow me to disappoint you! Reveal Ring of Destruction!" Daniel's face-down card flipped up and a metal ring with grenades attached to it appeared around the neck of the Dark Magician Lord. "This will destroy your monster and deal its attack in damage to both of us!" There was an echoing click and the magician exploded, spraying the field with smoke.

Yugi- 0

Daniel- 0

Yugi laughed and walked through the smoke to meet Daniel halfway across the field. "That would be the second time that a duel between us has ended in a draw."

Daniel grinned and shook his opponent's hand. "True. I guess that maybe we are fated never to finish a duel with a definite winner in mind." He turned to head into the hangar. "Let's go see if the jet is ready."

Yugi nodded and followed, though he had to really wonder how it was that Daniel could pull off the same move against him twice.

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A few hours later the six duelists (Joey was there, by the way) find themselves aboard one of Kaiba's jets, headed towards the disclosed location of the Shadow Corporation's tournament.

Yugi sighed and stared at his deck. ("I don't think I can make my strategy any better.")

_("Maybe you should take break then Yugi? You're going to be very busy in just a few hours after all.")_ Yami didn't sound very worried about them losing this tournament, but Yugi couldn't blame the ancient spirit for any of it. He was, after all, technically the real king of games.

("So, have you said hello to Rikuo yet Yami?")

_("I tried to enter Daniel's mind to find him, but so far all of my efforts have been thwarted. I think he is sleeping.")_

Yugi looked over at the snoring form of Daniel and smiled. ("I can't imagine how tiring it must be to have an ancient demon inside you.")

From within his mind Yami coughed sharply. _("I think you have a little bit of experience with ancient spirits.")_

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("I can feel you coming to me, Blade of the Wolf.")

"Milord? Are you alright sir?"

"I'm fine. All of our honored guests should be arriving soon. Make sure they are given the proper welcome."

"Of course."

As he watched his servant leave, he laced his fingers and looked down at his desk. ("The Legendary Weapon cards. Twelve in all. Each one powerful in its own way. Yet one of the mightiest was the Blade of the Wolf.") He smiled at the three cards that sat in front of him. ("Dagger of the Fox, Fang of the Snake, and Bow of the Bird. These three weapons will be more then powerful enough to overcome Rikuo. Yet there exists another of the twelve weapons that remains out of my reach for now. So close and yet so far away...")

He turned in his chair and looked out at the ocean glittering in the day-time sun. "Let's play a little game Rikuo. The winner walks away with five of the Legendary Weapon cards in his control, and the loser..." He chuckled, "...well it won't matter, now will it?" He stood and slid the three Legendary Weapon cards into his coat pocket. Off in the distance he could see the slowly approaching form of the Kaiba Corp. jet. ("Let the Tournament of Dark Souls begin.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Divide and Conquer

Author's Notes: Sorry if I am being too slow with my updates. I wanted to make sure that this chapter included all of the needed information. Just wait, because the next chapter is going to have a duel in it that definitely is worth reading about. Trust me.

As always, review if you can, because that is my motivation to write faster...


	8. Divide and conquer

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 8: Divide and Conquer

"Attention passengers, we're almost to the location of the dueling ground. Please get ready to depart." The intercom clicked on board Kaiba's jet clicked off.

Yugi nudged Daniel a few times and finally the red-haired duelist awoke. "How long was I out?"

Yugi smiled. "Not too long. We're going to set down soon."

Daniel nodded and got up to open his overhead compartment. Pulling the Howling Sword free, he tied the weapon around his waist and then he grabbed his bag and duel disk. ("Alright, let's see what crazy rules are up for this....") He stopped in mid-thought as a whining noise came from outside the plane. He glanced out of one of the passenger side windows and his heart leapt into his throat. ("That's....that's...")

Right outside of the plane was the gold and red form of a Duel Monster. It screeched and lifted out of his immediate sight range.

Daniel rubbed his eyes and looked over at Yugi. "Did you see that?"

Yugi looked up from his bag. "See what?"

Daniel rubbed his eyes again. "Never mind, I must be imagining things."

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Valeus furrowed his forehead as he sensed a powerful magic in the air. ("Someone is tapping into massive amounts of magical energy.") He slid out of his seat quietly and went towards the back of the plane. He needed to invoke a divination spell and the last thing he needed were these fools to interfere.

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A scream came from the front of the plane. The door to the pilot's cabin opened and the pilot came running out screaming, "MONSTERS!"

Yugi and Daniel stepped aside as the terrified man ran towards the back of the plane.

Kaiba frowned and walked towards the cabin. "What's he babbling about?" He opened the door and barely leapt back in time to avoid the green and scaled claw that nearly took his head off.

The creature pushed the door fully open to reveal itself. It stood about 7'6", and it looked like a very angry humanoid lizard.

Kaiba took a couple of steps back to get a good distance between him and the creature. "That's Death Gremlin!" (1600/1800)

Yugi already was having Yami take over, and Daniel let his mind slide back to give Rikuo free reign.

The Death Gremlin howled and lunged, only to find its charge stopped by a sword blade sticking in its ribs.

Rikuo glared up at the creature and threw his shoulder into it, sending the beast stumbling back into the pilot's cabin. "This is a really bad place to fight."

Yami stepped past him and lifted his palm to aim at the creature. "Don't worry. In a few moments this shadow creature will be back where it belongs." The eye of Ra on his forehead flared to life and he released a wave of energy that struck the creature. "Mind Crush!" The Death Gremlin howled and stumbled back, but as the wave of energy subsided, it charged forward again.

Rikuo slid past Yami smoothly and snapped his sword into a quick blow meant to gut the creature. The blade sliced cleanly through the creature, but instead of innards all that sprayed out was a black liquid. The wolf demon stepped back and lifted his sword into a defensive stance. "Well Pharaoh?"

Yami didn't understand. If this creature was something from the shadow realm, he should have been able to banish it. "Can you kill it?"

Rikuo growled at the Death Gremlin, which was waiting for an opening so it could attack again. "I can, but since I can't use my weapon at full strength....let's just say it'll wind up being overly messy."

A yell of, "IT'S REAL!!" came from the back and the forms of CJ and Joey came charging into the passenger cabin, with a howling wolf chasing after them.

Rikuo heard the wolf's howl and snickered as he recognized who it belonged to. "A Silver Fang (1200/800) too hmm? Pitiful."

CJ had a metal tray in his hands that he was using to bash the silver-furred Duel Monster over the head with. Unfortunately, he had to back off as it managed to shake off the pain of the blows and get its wits enough to snap at him.

Rikuo glanced back at Yami and Kaiba. "Get everyone out of this aisle. I'll deal with these two." The two slid along the middle row of seats, followed by CJ and Joey seconds later. The wolf demon took a step back to make himself an easy target to the Silver Fang. He didn't need the thing chasing after the others. The Silver Fang howled once more and leapt for Rikuo's open back.

Rikuo shoved his sword behind him, catching the wolf in the air and impaling it on the blade. It roared in anger and thrashed against the blade, driving itself farther along the steel length to get to its target.

Yami frowned as he watched the Death Gremlin get ready to lunge at the now unable to move Rikuo. "We have to help him."

Joey risked a glance over at his friend, though his attention was more on the battle he was watching before him. "How are we going to do that?"

Yami looked over at Kaiba. "I'm more curious about who's flying the plane."

Kaiba's eyes widened as he realized no one was. As if on cue the plane lurched forward, hurling everyone into the front of the cabin. To say the least it was a painful situation as they were suddenly pressed into each other.

For Rikuo though it was much more than painful as he was driven right into the waiting claws of the Death Gremlin, which eagerly stabbed into his arms with its sharp nails. He gritted his teeth and slammed his forehead into its skull, driving up its chin. Then he drove his knee forward to push himself just far enough back to remove the beast's claws from his upper arms. While it was still stunned he drove his claws into its throat, tearing open a black hole that sprayed out more of the foul smelling black liquid all over him.

A howl behind him brought him to a very bad conclusion. ("The Silver Fang....") Then the breath was blown out of his body as the large silver-furred wolf slammed into him, driving him into the crushing embrace of the Death Gremlin. He growled as the horrible smelling black liquid that was the monsters blood almost went right up his nose. ("I've had enough of this!") He turned around and yanked the Howling Sword free from the Silver Fang, the weapon instantly burning with phantom flame now that it was in the hands of its master.

Yami saw the angered glow in Rikuo's eyes and he quickly figured exactly what the wolf demon intended to do. Turning his head, he looked over at the door to the pilot's cabin. "We need to get out of this cabin, now!"

Rikuo snapped the flaming sword in an arch, the weapon leaving a wave of fire that instantly consumed the silver wolf and every bit of the plane that was in its path. Suddenly Rikuo's rage faded as he realized what he had just done.

The plane gave off one tortured screech of metal being torn from metal, and then it split in half. The last thing Rikuo managed to think before he was suddenly alone in the air was that maybe he should have kept his temper in check.

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Every part of him hurt...

In fact, every part of every part of him hurt...

Yet Yugi managed to come to his feet slowly, despite his aches and pains. He looked around and saw that he was standing alone on a cliff overlooking a huge forest. ("How...did I get here?")

From within his head Yami groaned in pain. _("That landing hurt a lot, magic or no magic to protect us.")_

Yugi understood now. If it hadn't of been for Yami he would be dead now. ("Yami, thank you for saving me. What happened to everyone else though?")

_("I don't know Yugi, but I should warn you that something very magical is approaching us rapidly. I suggest you let me take over.")_

("Are you sure that is wise Yami? You did emerge from a plane crash after all.")

_("Thank you for your concern Yugi, but I will be okay. Now hurry, whatever it is will be here soon.")_

Yugi sighed and nodded, letting his mind disappear and give control to Yami. ("Alright, but tell me the minute you need to switch back.")

Yami nodded and watched as a tall man in a billowing black cloak walked down from a small path along the mountain. The man got closer and closer, until finally he was about ten feet away from Yami. "Greetings Yugi Moto. Or is it Yami I'm talking to." He chuckled and in his refined voice continued. "No matter. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Dark Soul Prix. I hope your welcoming committee was friendly enough."

Yami clenched his fist and glared. "So those creatures were yours?"

The man's cloak billowed some more and he laughed. "In a way, I suppose you could say that. That should be the least of your concerns though, because you and I are going to have a special duel right here and right now. If you want to get off this ledge and move on towards the location of the actual tournament, you're going to have to beat me." His arm emerged the folds of his cloak wearing a black and silver duel disk. "Ready?"

Yami just then realized that he was wearing his duel disk. ("But I don't remember ever putting it on though.") He pushed that thought aside and clicked the device into ready position. "Fine, let's get this done with."

The man's duel disk clicked into place. "We will be playing with 8000 life points and using the deck master system. You must pick your deck master by drawing from your deck until you reach a monster card. That monster card will be your deck master for this game."

Yami frowned and started drawing cards off of his deck until he finally reached..."My deck master for this match will be the Egyptian God card Saint Dragon Osiris!" His field magic card slot opened and he slid the red-faced card into his duel disk. The sky grew dark and from high above him the titanic form of the double-mouthed Egyptian God came into sight. The mile-long monster roared and shook the mountainside with its voice. "I hope you're ready to lose."

The man seemed unconcerned though. "First off you may call me Chaos. I am an Emissary of the Shadow Corporation. As for my deck master, I do not need one to defeat you Yami."

Yami narrowed his eyes at that statement. "Why would you turn down an obvious advantage? Especially considering that my deck master is an Egyptian God."

Chaos snorted haughtily. "Fool, I am far more powerful than you are. In fact, I am so confident that I will let you go first."

Yami drew his five and then his sixth. "You're digging your own grave Chaos." He looked his hand over and smirked. Taking two cards out of the fan he was holding, he slid them into the duel disk. "I set two cards face-down and..." He slapped a monster onto the disk. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode!" A mage wearing grey and purple robes appeared on his field. "End turn." Up above him Osiris circled the battlefield, waiting for a chance to use its special ablity.

Chaos drew his five and then his sixth. He fanned the cards out and then grasped one. He held it up and snickered as he slapped it onto his disk. "I summon a monster in face-down...."

Yami grinned and pressed a button on his duel disk. "Hold on Chaos! I flip up the continuous trap card Light of Intervention! As long as this trap remains on the field you must play all of your monsters face-up on your field!"

Chaos didn't seem worried at all. "Alright then Yami, I summon a monster I'm sure you remember all to well from your flight." A familiar dark green humanoid reptile appeared on his field. "Death Gremlin in defense mode." The creature lifted its arms around itself as it crouched.

Yami chuckled and pointed up at the circling form of Osiris. "You've triggered my deck master's special ability. By paying 1000 life points, I may drain your summoned monster of 2000 points from whatever mode it is in."

Yami- 7000

Chaos- 8000

Osiris's second mouth stretched open and began to charge up a ball of explosive purple energy. "Summon Lightning Impact!" The second mouth spat out the ball, which then enveloped the Death Gremlin, instantly destroying it.

Still Chaos didn't seem worried. "Very well Yami, if that's how you want to play this game." He took two cards from his hand and slid them into his disk. "I suppose I have no choice but to set these two cards face-down on my field. End turn."

Yami drew and slapped down a new monster. "Get ready Chaos, because you are about to lose more than half of your life points! I sacrifice my Skilled Dark Magician to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode!" The female spellcaster appeared on the field and grinned, as if she knew what was coming next.

Chaos had a general idea what Yami meant, and he was more then ready to deal with what the king of games was going to throw at him. ("Let's just see if my assumption is correct.")

Yami slid one of the cards in his hand into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Sage's Stone, which will allow me to special summon my Dark Magician (2500/2100) to the field from my deck!" The ground next to the Dark Magician Girl shuddered and then a pillar of light sprang up. As it cleared the purple-robed form of Yami's favorite monster stood next to his female counterpart.

Chaos tapped a button on his duel disk. "It's too bad your moves are so predictable Yami." One of his face-down cards flipped face-up. "I activate the trap card Soul Cleave! This trap card requires that I pay 2000 life points, but your monster summon is negated." The Dark Magician shimmered and then exploded.

Yami- 7000

Chaos- 6000

Yami frowned and pointed at Chaos. "Dark Magician Girl, attack his life points directly!"

Chaos tapped another button on his duel disk. "You're making it far too easy for me. I activate my other face-down card, Chaos Barrier!" A black and white colored wall of light sprang up between him and the Dark Magician Girl. "This trap protects me from being attacked by all monsters that are either light or dark attributes until the end of the turn."

Yami stared at his hand intently. So far Chaos had stopped every play he had made. ("I'm not out of tricks yet though.") He grabbed a card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Chaos drew and slapped down a new monster. "I summon Freed the Brave Wanderer (1700/1200) in attack mode." A blond-haired man wearing silver armor appeared on his field.

Yami smiled and pointed at Freed. "Once again I activate the effect of my deck master. Summon Lightning Impact!" Osiris charged up another ball of purple light that it fired at the armored warrior, blowing him away instantly.

Yami- 6000

Chaos- 6000

Chaos chuckled again and bowed to his opponent. "Thank you Yami. Thank you for giving me the cards I needed."

The ancient pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about? My deck master has been destroying all of your creatures."

Chaos took a card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "First I set this card face-down. Now let me tell you a little story."

Yami felt some kind of dark power flowing from his opponent. ("Something is very wrong here. What is this energy he is giving off?")

Chaos took a card from his hand and placed it onto his disk. "Long ago there existed nothingness. The only two forces within that world were light and darkness. Then an event happened that heralded the beginning of life. Light and dark became one!" The cloak fluttered as the darkness Chaos was giving off became visible. "Now face the wrath of...." He threw his cloak into the air, revealing his form. "...Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning!" (3000/2500)

Yami took a step back as the darkness that Chaos was giving off began to engulf the field. "This darkness...it means..." He looked at his opponent, eyes wide.

Chaos motioned to his body, which was the blue-armored form of the Black Luster Soldier. "That's right Yami. I didn't need a deck master because I am my own deck master. As for the darkness..." He lifted his arm and the darkness flowed around it, and then it sprayed around them to form a black and purple sphere that engulfed the surrounding area. "...it is mine. Welcome to the last darkness game you will ever play in Yami. For when I show you my powers, you will understand that nothing you can do will win you this duel!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Battling the gods of light and darkness

Author's notes: I hope this is interesting so far. Anyway, review please. Other than that, I don't have much to say. I'll answer any questions that are posted in reviews, so please post if you can.


	9. Battling the gods of light and darkness

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 9: Battling the gods of Light and Darkness

_Chaos motioned to his body, which was the blue-armored form of the Black Luster Soldier. "That's right Yami. I didn't need a deck master because I am my own deck master. As for the darkness..." He lifted his arm and the darkness flowed around it, and then it sprayed around them to form a black and purple sphere that engulfed the surrounding area. "...it is mine. Welcome to the last darkness game you will ever play in Yami. For when I show you my powers, you will understand that nothing you can do will win you this duel!"_

Yami frowned and looked at his opponent evenly. "I think you have forgotten the special ability of my deck master. So let me remind you by paying 1000 life points to activate Summon Lightning Impact!" The massive form of Saint Dragon Osiris charged up another ball of purple destructive energy.

Yugi- 5000

Chaos- 6000

Chaos lifted his duel disk and tapped a button on it. "I activate the magic card Safeguard, which stops Osiris's attack!" A shield appeared in front of him and absorbed the purple ball of energy. "Sorry if you expected me to roll over and die Yami, but I'm too powerful for that." From underneath his helmet he smiled. "In fact, I'm even tougher than your Egyptian God card."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Now I think you are getting far too big of an ego for your own good, Chaos. You may be powerful, but you're not that powerful."

Chaos slid the last card he was holding into his duel disk. "I'll show you right now. I set one card face-down on my field and then I activate my special ability as a monster!" He extended his hand and a glowing sword appeared. He snapped it through the air and the weapon ran the Dark Magician Girl through, instantly destroying her. "Instead of attacking, I may simply remove one monster on my opponent's field from the game."

Yami bit his lower lip. With Chaos having abilities like that he might have something to worry about.

Chaos nodded to Yami. "Well, take your turn knowing that whatever you summon will be instantly destroyed by me."

Yami drew and his worries intensified. ("I don't have any monsters that I can summon without sacrificing.") Then he remembered his face-down card and his hopes lifted a little. "I flip up my face-down Card Destruction! This forces both of us to discard our hands and draw an equal number of cards from our deck." He discarded his two cards and drew two new ones. He gave them a passing glance and nodded to himself. ("Alright, this is something that I can work with.")

Yami slapped a monster onto his disk. "I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode!" A large brown-furred monster appeared on his field in a crouching position.

Then he slid the last card he was holding into his duel disk. "I end my turn by setting this card face-down."

Chaos drew and slapped down a monster onto his disk. "I summon Gil Gars (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A demon wielding a huge sword appeared on his field next to him.

Yami motioned up to Osiris. "Once again I activate the special ability of Summon Lightning Impact!" Osiris opened its second set of jaws and in one flash of purple light Chaos's new monster was gone.

Yami- 5000

Chaos- 6000

Chaos chuckled. "That's what I wanted you to do. It doesn't matter to me what happens to my other creatures. I'm all that matters in this duel. I'm the Envoy that will send your soul to oblivion Yami!" His duel disk clicked close and a sword and shield appeared in his hands. "Now I will attack your Gazelle!" He leapt across the field and raised his sword to cut down the beast.

Yami pressed a button on his duel disk. "That's just what I was hoping you would do Chaos! I activate the trap card Mirror Force! This will stop your attack and destroy all attack mode monsters on your field! That means you're about to lose!" A blue barrier sprang up between Chaos and the Gazelle.

Chaos slammed his sword right through the barrier, shattering it. Then his sword continued in its path and it slashed down Yami's Gazelle.

The former pharaoh stared in confusion at Chaos, who was now less than a foot away from him. "What happened to my Mirror Force!?"

Chaos slowly stood up and motioned back over to his field, where his face-down card had flipped up. "I triggered my trap card Renewed Efforts. It negates any trap card that negates my attack and it also increases my attack by 500 for one turn." (3500/2500)

Yami was starting to feel hard-pressed now. He had to rely on his next draw to win this duel for him. ("At least my life points are safe.")

Chaos snickered and lifted his sword until it was inches from Yami's face. "From that look you have on your face you must think that you are safe now." His sword continued to move up, until it was held over his head in a striking position. "Didn't I tell you that I am the ultimate monster? Not only can I remove a monster from play instead of attacking, but when I destroy a monster in battle I may attack once more during that battle phase." He leaned his head in close to whisper into the now pale Yami's ear. "Die." Then he struck.

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"Hey Joey, I think we've been this way already."

"No we haven't CJ."

"Sure we have! I saw that tree ten minutes ago."

Joey Wheeler tugged on his shirt, which was sticking to his chest. "I'm telling you that you're wrong!"

CJ Anderson pointed at the tree and growled. "I'm telling you that I'm right!"

"Wrong!"

"Right!"

"WRONG!"

"RIGHT!"

"WRONG!!!!"

CJ tackled Joey to the ground, their argument breaking into a wrestling match.

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Chaos waited patiently for the Pharaoh to regain consciousness. He had struck the ancient ruler rather hard after all.

Yami- 1500

Chaos- 6000

Finally Yami came to his feet. ("That...hurt...") His soul felt like someone had just placed it through a meat shredder. ("He has two special abilities that make him absolutely lethal in battle.")

Chaos chuckled and crossed his arms across his chest. "Welcome back to the land of the living Yami. Now draw your next card or forfeit."

"I'd never forfeit to you." Yami drew and he slid the card into his duel disk. "Card of Sanctity forces both players to draw until they have six cards in their hand!" He drew six cards from his deck.

Chaos drew his own six cards and laughed. "You might have been better off just setting it and hoping that I would think it was a trap. With a hand like the one you have just given me, there's no way I can lose."

Yami slid three cards into his duel disk. "I'm done with the trash-talking Chaos. Let's get this duel over with. I set three cards face-down and I summon Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode!" A man crouching behind a heavy shield appeared on the field. "End turn."

Chaos drew his seventh card and slid it into his duel disk. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." He drew two and held up his fan of eight cards. "Now which of the many ways available to me should I use to wipe you out?"

Yami growled. He was getting tired of this Emissary and his ego.

Chaos slid one card free and inserted into his duel disk. "Let's give this card a try! Activate Dragged Down to the Grave! Now we look at each others hands, select one card from them, and send that card to the graveyard. Then we both draw one card." He turned his fan of cards around to show Yami exactly what he was holding.

Yami knew what some of the cards did, but a couple of the magic cards he saw were new to him. "I select your Monster Reborn!"

Chaos took the card and slid it into his graveyard. "Alright Yami, now it's your turn to show me your hand."

Yami turned his three cards around to show them. Chaos pondered the three for a second, then pointed to the center card. "I choose for you to discard Magical Silk Hats." Yami turned his hand back around and took the card, sliding it into his graveyard. "Very well." Then they both drew one card.

Chaos slid one card from his hand into his duel disk. "Now I trigger Card Destruction. We both discard our hands to draw new ones." He folded his hand up and slid the small stack into his deck. Then he drew seven new cards.

Yami discarded his three and did the same. ("What's he doing? I was expecting him to start attacking, not suddenly switch to hand manipulation.")

Chaos looked his new hand over and then took three cards from his hand. He slid one into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Magic Resurrection. By discarding two magic cards from my hand I may activate one magic card in my graveyard." He slid the other two cards he was holding into his graveyard. "Now I reactivate Card Destruction." He discarded his four cards and drew four new ones.

Yami slid his three cards into the graveyard and drew three more as well. ("He's definitely trying to find something, but what though?")

Chaos looked at his four and growled. He grabbed another card out of his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "Graceful Charity lets me draw three cards and then discard two." He drew three cards and added them to his hand. After glancing them over he selected two of the middle cards and discarded them.

Yami could tell by the look on his opponent's face that he had yet to find what he was looking for. ("Whatever card he wants must be near the bottom of his deck.") "What's the matter Chaos? Not drawing the cards you need?"

Chaos slid another card from his hand into his duel disk. "I activate another Graceful Charity." He drew three more cards, and then slid two into his graveyard. He grabbed another card and slid it in. "My final Graceful Charity." He drew three and discarded two more.

Yami stared at the two remaining cards that Chaos had in his deck. ("Is he trying to wipe himself out?")

Chaos slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down on my field." He slapped a monster onto his duel disk. "Then I summon another Gil Gars in attack mode." The demon appeared on the field and cackled, snapping its sword back and forth.

Yami considered using Osiris's special ability to wipe out the monster, but then he remembered his life point total. ("I'd better save my life points for a better target.")

Chaos slid the last card in his hand into his duel disk. "Finally I play the magic card Offerings to the Doomed! By sacrificing my next draw phase I may destroy one monster on my opponent's field! So good-bye Big Shield Gardna!" A beam of red light shot out of the card and blew the defender into nothingness.

Yami didn't look too worried. "Bring on your attack Chaos. I'm ready for you."

Chaos pointed at Yami. "Gil Gars attack!" The demon howled and launched across the field, sword poised to run Yami through.

The pharaoh tapped a button on his duel disk. His middle card flipped up to reveal a trap. "Activate Magic Cylinder! This deals your monster's attack points in damage to your life points!" The Gil Gars spun around and flew at its master, slamming its sword down on Chaos's shoulder. The armored Duel Monster fell to one knee from the force of the blow.

Yami- 1500

Chaos- 4200

Chaos came to his feet with sword and shield in hand. "I'll make you pay for that!" He charged across the field, intent on cutting Yami down where he stood.

Yami calmly tapped another button on his duel disk. "I activate the trap card Thunderous Pain! If you still want to attack me then you'll have to pay life points equal to your attack point total!"

Chaos was too enraged to care, so he charged on. "It's worth it to watch you die!"

Yami- 1500

Chaos- 1200

Yami flipped up the last card on his field. "For the finale I play the trap card Time Out! This stops the battle phase and allows both players to summon one level four or lower monster from their hands to the field!" A barrier sprang up between Yami and Chaos, separating the two by mere inches.

Chaos growled again and walked back to his field. "You won't stave me off forever Yami."

Yami slapped down his monster for Time Out's effect. "I won't need to Chaos! I summon Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode!" A little brown furball with eyes and green claws and feet appeared on his field.

Chaos returned to his field and turned to face his opponent. "End turn."

Yami drew and looked at his three cards. ("These should buy me the time I need to win.") He slid one of his cards into his duel disk. "First I play Swords of Revealing Light!" Swords made out of green light slammed all across Chaos's field. "With this magic card in play you will be unable to attack me for three turns. And since you skip your next draw phase, all I have to worry about is if you destroy them. Otherwise you have lost this duel."

Chaos was silent. He didn't seem mad at all. "Anything else?"

Yami slid his other two cards into his duel disk. "Yes actually. I set two cards face-down and then my turn is complete."

Chaos pulled his sword free and threw it at the Kuriboh. "I use my special ability to get rid of your furball!"

Yami flipped up his face-down card. "Activate Safeguard! Just as it shielded you from Osiris's special ability, it will shield my Kuriboh from your special ability!"

Chaos nodded to Yami. "End turn."

Yami drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down. End turn."

Chaos drew and went silent for a few seconds, and then he exploded into howling laughter. "Oh this is perfect! I finally have drawn the Envoy that will wipe you out!"

Yami narrowed his eyes. ("It looks like he found the card he needed.")

Chaos motioned to his graveyard slot. "I remove a light and a dark attribute monster to special summon the creature that will herald your end Pharaoh!" He slapped the creature onto his duel disk. "Come forth Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End!" (3000/2500)

The darkness around them pulsed and then a hulking armored dragon came into sight. The terrifying creature roared, shaking the earth around it in its fury. It brought its gold-blue head down to screech at Yami, its wings beating rapidly.

Chaos continued to laugh at his opponent. "While it is true that I cannot attack your life points while your Swords of Revealing Light is in play, my dragon's special ability will deal with that. You see by paying 1000 life points, I may send all of the cards in our hands and on our fields to the graveyards. That's not the worst part of it though. For every card placed into the graveyard by this effect, you lose 300 life points. That's more than enough to wipe you out! Now go Chaos Emperor Dragon! Apocalypse blast!"

Yami knew he only had one chance to survive this. "Activate the quickplay equipment magic card Ability Negate!" A metal skull clamp shot across the field and attached to the back of the dragon's neck. "This will remove your monster's special ability as long as it is attached!"

Chaos smirked and tapped a button on his duel disk. "Lucky play Pharaoh, but I play De-spell to remove the clamp." The steel device shuddered and then blew apart. "The only downside to this is that I cannot trigger my dragon's special ability this turn. So take your final turn Yami, and then say hello to oblivion!"

Yami looked down at his deck and nodded to it. ("Please give me what I need.") He drew. He stared at the card intently for a few seconds. "Chaos, it's over. I summon Dark Gaia of the Gale (2300/2100) in attack mode!" A knight riding a purple horse appeared on his field.

"Now to make sure the way will be clear!" One of his two face-down cards flipped up. "Mystical Space Typhoon destroys your remaining face-down card!" A sharp wind blew Chaos's remaining face-down card apart.

Chaos slid the card into his graveyard. "What makes you think I'm beaten?"

Yami sneered and motioned to his Kuriboh. "Because you forgot to use your special ability to remove my Kuriboh from play. That's about to cost you the game."

Chaos chuckled evenly. "What can that little rat do?"

Yami flipped up his face-down card. "Alone it can do nothing, but that doesn't mean that I can't defeat you using it. Reveal Rainbow Arch!" The Kuriboh shuddered and then shot in an arc over the field, leaving a rainbow trail in its wake.

"This is your end Chaos!" The Kuriboh landed right in front of Chaos and then exploded, leaving a rainbow bridge of light between him and Yami. "By sacrificing Kuriboh I may use Rainbow Arch to give one of my monsters the ability to attack your life points directly this turn."

Chaos took a couple of steps back. "But...but I'm the ultimate monster! I cannot be defeated!"

Yami pointed at him. "Dark Gaia, attack his life points directly!" The knight charged up the rainbow bridge, lance at ready to run Chaos through. "You keep calling yourself the ultimate monster, and yet you forget that you are also a duelist. Since I'm attacking your life points and not your monster form, you can't do anything but lose."

Chaos lifted his shield to defend himself against the incoming lance, but it passed right through his defense and ran him through. He stared down at the hole in his chest and then faded away.

Yami- 1500

Chaos- 0

The darkness of the field faded and so did all that remained of Chaos and his duel disk. Yami sighed and returned to the Millennium puzzle. ("Alright Yugi, I've had a very long day and I think a nap is in order.")

Yugi looked down at the puzzle and nodded. ("Get some rest Yami. I'll find the others and then we can get out of this crazy place.")

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He watched as Yugi walked away from the initial starting area. Tapping his fingers together, he frowned. "And once again Yugi Moto and Yami emerge the victors of yet another duel." He tapped a button on his desk and the screen went dead.

He wasn't mad though. Far from it actually. ("Watching Yami is like watching an artist at work. He wins his duels with a finality that makes it hard to argue with the fact that he is the king of games.")

He ran his hands through his raven black hair and smiled coldly. "Soon I will gain back what is rightfully mine though, and then even he won't be able to stop me." He chuckled, the simple sound far more menacing than any evil laugh ever could be.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Dueling under the big top

Author's Notes: Chaos monsters....bleh. I used to run the deck and if you ever want a way to kill the fun of the game, run them. They're so boring because they are so powerful. Anyway...

Read and review. All questions will be accepted and answered in the next Author's Notes.


	10. Dueling under the big top

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 10: Dueling under the big top

A single howling voice cut through the silence of the night. Then it was joined by numerous other howling voices. And through it all CJ Anderson and Joey Wheeler ran like their lives depended on it. Behind them were a pack of Silver Fang (1200/800) which intended to have them for ....forever!" CJ leaped over a rock in his path and then went into a roll. ("Daniel's lucky as all hell. At least he has Rikuo to deal with these things!") He was back on his feet in an instant, moving as fast as his legs would let him.

Joey barreled past him, one of the silver-furred Duel Monsters nipping at his heels. "WE CAN TRY!" He snapped his foot back to kick the creature right in the snout. It yelped and ran backwards; only to have two more of its kin take its place.

CJ skidded to a stop next to his friend, getting ready to fight these things. ("I really don't want to die! Someone please save us from dying!") One of the silver-furred Duel Monsters launched forward, teeth bared and ready to rip him apart. CJ held his hand out in front of him as if to ward off the creature. "GET AWAY!"

The night sky was lit up by a flash of golden light that came from his palm. The Silver Fang froze in mid-air and then it was thrown backwards like someone had just shot it out of a cannon barrel.

CJ and Joey both stared at the space where the Silver Fang had been a moment ago, and then they picked up into a run again.

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Finally they saw something that wasn't a tree or something else that you might see in a forest. After slowly to a stop and realizing that they were no longer being chased, they took in exactly what they were staring at.

"It's a..." CJ started.

"...Circus tent." Joey finished.

They both looked over at each other, and then shrugged in unison.

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Inside the tent the two duelists first noticed the fact that the tent was occupied. People were piled up in the stands and they were clapping.

CJ looked over at the empty ring. "Who are you applauding? No one is performing."

"They're applauding you, my dear boys!" The spot-light snapped over the two of them.

Joey grinned and ran into the ring, throwing his hands up in the air and eating up the attentions of the crowd. CJ joined him a few seconds later.

Suddenly the clapping stopped and the crowd went silent.

CJ and Joey watched as a black-cloaked pair of figures walked into the ring from the other side of the tent.

"Welcome Joey Wheeler and CJ Anderson," One of them said.

"Err...hey." They both said.

The other man chuckled at their hesitance. "We are both Emissaries of the Shadow Corporation. We are going to have a special double right now with the two of you. If you succeed against us then you will be able to proceed to the tournament location itself. So what do you say?"

CJ smiled over at Joey. "Ready to crush these guys?"

Joey's duel disk clicked into place. "You know I am."

CJ's disk was next to click into place. "You heard the man. We accept your challenge!"

The two Emissaries walked about ten feet apart from each other and threw their cloaks aside.

The first Emissary looked like a clown that CJ remembered Deondre always complaining about. "I am Peten the Dark Clown." (500/1200)

The other Emissary threw his cloak away to reveal a clown wearing purple and blue clothing, with a face that seemed horribly disfigured. "I am Saggi the Dark Clown." (600/1500)

Joey blanched as he faced down Saggi. "Err...You're a Duel Monster."

Saggi snickered and raised a hand to point at him. "And you're a genius. Now start drawing off the top of your deck until you reach a monster. That creature will be your deck master."

CJ drew off the top of his deck until he reached... "It looks like my Deck Master is going to be Nexus the Conqueror." (3500/3000) Next to him the magnificent golden armored form of Nexus appeared.

Joey drew off the top until... "My deck master is Gilford the Lightning!" (2800/1400)

Peten and Saggi's duel disks clicked into place. "As you know, we will be our own deck masters. Since we made the challenge, one of you two may go first."

CJ drew his five and nodded to Joey. "I'll start us off." He looked at his hand and smiled. ("My newest strategy...I think I'll wait until I can use it as a surprise.") He grabbed one of the cards off of his disk and slapped into onto his disk. "Let me start this little show with an old favorite! I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1200) in attack mode!" The battle-axe wielding form of a Minotaur appeared on his field. "End turn."

Peten drew his card. "Little show? How wrong you are boy. This is one of the most spectacular shows on earth!" He popped open his field magic card slot. "I play the field magic card Little Big-Top!" All around the four duelists holograms of different circus performers appeared. "As long as this field magic card remains in play all monsters that Saggi and I play with the name Clown in their title will gain 500 attack and defense points."

"That's not all though! Now I summon Dream Clown (1700/1400) in attack mode!" A clown wearing a purple rubber nose and juggling purple rubber balls in the air appeared on the field. "End turn."

Joey drew and looked at the two powerful monsters on the field. ("CJ and Peten seem to be evenly matched for now, so I had better worry about Saggi.") Until he saw the clown's deck in action though all he could do was guess at what Saggi's strategy was. "Alright Bozo, I summon Alligator's Sword (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A reptile monster wielding a sword appeared on his field. "End turn."

Saggi drew. His single good eye looked his hand over and then he carefully placed a card on his duel disk. "I set one monster face-down. End turn."

CJ drew and slapped down a new monster. "You should have fortified your defenses Peten. I summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in attack mode!" A fire-breathing gorilla appeared on his field and roared, pounding its chest with its fists. "Now attack his Dream Clown!" The Gorilla charged across the field and punched the Dream Clown right in the face, sending it flying off into the distance.

CJ- 8000

Joey- 8000

Peten- 7700

Saggi- 8000

Peten laughed and his deck spat out a card that he caught and slapped onto his disk. "You've triggered my deck master ability! Whenever a monster with Clown in its title is sent to the graveyard because of battle, I may special summon a copy of it from my deck or hand to the field. So ladies and gentlemen, returning by popular demand, put your hands together for the Dream Clown!" Another of the purple-nosed monsters appeared on the field.

CJ growled and withheld his attack with his Battle Ox. "End turn."

Peten drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down on the field." He hand flashed across the top of his duel disk as he turned the Dream Clown card horizontal. "I then switch Dream Clown to defense mode. This triggers its special ability, which means that one of the monsters on your field is about to leave in a very painful fashion. So go Dream Destruction!"

The clown hurled all of the purple balls that it was juggling at the Enraged Battle Ox. The Minotaur was pummeled senselessly, and then as it hit the ground it exploded into digital particles. "End turn."

Joey drew and smiled over at CJ. "Don't worry man, I'll turn this around right now." He grabbed the Alligator's Sword off of his duel disk and slid it into the graveyard. Then he threw down his next monster. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Jinzo!" (2400/1500)

The green armored humanoid appeared on the field and Peten's face-down card floated to the floor. "I guess that means your trap is out of reach clown-boy. Jinzo, blast Saggi's face-down monster out of existence!" The monster's red lenses that counted as its eyes lit up and then shot out a beam of red light that slashed the face-down monster apart.

Saggi took the creature card off of his disk and slid it into the graveyard. "You think I'm impressed?"

Joey slid two cards from his hand into his duel disk. "Not yet. End turn."

Saggi drew and cackled. "Not ever you mean." He slapped down a monster. "I summon Clown Knight (2300/2000) in attack mode!" An armored knight appeared on the field. It would have been terrifying except for the fact that it was wearing a fluffy rainbow wig on its head and where it should have had a sword it had a rubber chicken.

Joey held back his laughter and motioned to his Jinzo. "Take a look at the life point totals before you get all happy. Jinzo's way too tough for your creature."

Saggi lifted his hand into the air, a ball of glowing light in his palm. "That will change, as I activate my deck master ability! Go Darkness Infusion!" The ball of light slammed into the Clown Knight. The creature stumbled forward and suddenly grew by about 3', making it taller than Jinzo. "My power increases the attack points of all of my monsters with Clown in their title by 600." (2900/2000)

Joey's eyes widened as the Clown Knight ran up to Jinzo and beat the metal monster senseless with the rubber chicken. "Ow..."

CJ- 8000

Joey- 7500

Peten- 7700

Saggi- 8000

Saggi cackled and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and I end my turn."

CJ drew and frowned over at the giant Clown Knight. ("That thing will rip apart any of the monsters in my hand.") One glance at his new card strengthened his resolve though. "First I set three cards face-down!" The three cards in question appeared in front of him on the field. "Then I attack with Berserk Gorilla! Attack Peten's Dream Clown!" The screeching ape shot across the field and for the second time in the duel there was a Dream Clown flying off into the distance.

Peten's deck spat out the third Dream Clown. "You're not hurting my position at all boy. Maybe you should rework your strategy?"

CJ frowned and slapped a monster onto his disk. "Maybe you should shut up? I summon Giant Rat (1400/1450) in defense mode." A giant grey-furred rat appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Peten drew and slapped down a new monster. "Now I summon Crass Clown (1800/1900) in attack mode." A grey-skinned creature resembling a clown appeared on his field. "And then I activate the magic card Polymerization!" A vortex appeared between the two clowns and they were sucked into it. "Now I combine my monsters together to create the mighty Bickuribox (2300/2000) in attack mode!" A brightly colored box appeared on his field. "Now say your prayers boy! Bickuribox attack!"

The box opened on the top and spat out a demonic jack-in-the-box with a scythe. It cackled and shot across the field to cut down CJ's Berserk Gorilla.

Tapping a button on his duel disk, one of CJ's face-down cards flipped up. "Back off my field Peten! Reveal Berserker Spirit! This'll double my Berserk Gorilla's attack power for one turn. The only downside is that if it battles a monster it dies." The fire-breathing ape howled as it suddenly had a boost in strength. (4000/1000) It caught Peten's Bickuribox in a bear hug and exploded, taking the demonic jack-in-the-box with it.

CJ- 8000

Joey- 7500

Peten- 6300

Saggi- 8000

Peten slid one card into his duel disk. "Then I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Joey drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down and end my turn."

Saggi drew and pointed at Joey. "Clown Knight attack his life points directly!" The knight charged across the field brandishing its rubber chicken.

Joey flipped up his face-down card. "Go Scapegoat!" Four colored goats appeared on his field and one was beaten senseless by the Clown Knight.

Saggi glanced over at CJ. "Take your turn."

CJ drew and slid his Giant Rat into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my Rat to summon Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000) in attack mode!" A winged lion monster appeared on his field. "Now attack Peten's life points directly!" The Manticore launched across the field, claws outstretched to crush the clown Emissary.

Peten flipped up his face-down card. "Activate Send in the Clowns! This allows all monsters on the field with Clown in their title to intercept your monster and attack it all at once!" A little clown car appeared on Saggi's field. The Clown Knight squeezed itself into the little car, and then the clown car drove over to Peten's field. The Clown Knight's arm snapped out of the car window and struck the Manticore of Darkness upside the head, instantly destroying it. Then the car drove over to Saggi's field and vanished, leaving the Clown Knight back where it belonged.

CJ- 7400

Joey- 7500

Peten- 6300

Saggi- 8000

CJ slid the last card he was holding into his graveyard. "I activate the special ability of the Manticore of Darkness! By discarding a beast or beast-warrior sub-type monster to the graveyard I may revive my Manticore at the end of the turn. End turn." Sure enough, the form of the Manticore of Darkness reappeared on his field in attack mode.

Peten drew and slapped a monster onto his disk. "I summon Crass Clown in defense mode! Then I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Joey drew and nodded to CJ. "You guys have been relying on your deck masters to do all of the work for you, so I think it's time you got a taste of your own medicine. I activate the special ability of my deck master. By sacrificing three monsters on my field I can destroy all monsters on both of your fields." His three remaining scapegoats disappeared.

From right behind him Gilford lifted its sword high into the air, calling down a lightning storm that destroyed all of the clown monsters.

Joey slapped down a monster. "Now I summon Rocket Warrior (1500/1200) in attack mode! Attack Saggi's life points directly!" A green armored warrior appeared on his field and folded into itself, turning into a rocket. The rocket launched across the field, intent of taking Saggi down.

Saggi tapped a button on his duel disk and one of his face-down cards flipped up. "Go Random Insanity! This continuous trap is about to turn the entire duel upside-down for everyone!"

The Rocket Warrior swerved and flew over to slam harmlessly into CJ's Manticore of Darkness.

Joey blinked as his Rocket Warrior returned to his field. "What the heck happened?"

Saggi pointed at his Random Insanity trap. "As long as this trap remains on the field then when anyone attacks with a monster it will randomly attack any monster or player in the game. Even I can't control where it goes."

Joey sighed at the trap card. ("I wish I still had Jinzo in play.") "End turn."

Saggi drew and cackled. "Let the show really begin! I summon Completely Loyal Clown (2100/1500) in attack mode!" A demonic clown with a lease around its neck appeared on the field and cackled insanely. "This is the only monster that it completely unaffected by Random Insanity! Completely Loyal Clown, attack Joey's Rocket Warrior!" The demon clown waddled across the field and whipped out a trick flower. When it squirted the Rocket Warrior though the true evil of the device it had was revealed. The liquid it sprayed was an acid that melted Rocket Warrior instantly.

CJ- 7400

Joey- 6900

Peten- 6300

Saggi- 8000

Saggi chuckled as his demon clown returned. "Now you see that we have a strategy that neither of you two can defeat!"

Peten added in, "And that means that soon you'll be defeated!"

CJ drew and he smiled to Joey. "I think it is time to reveal my new deck strategy. And by the time it is done, you two clowns will be all washed up!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: CJ's new strategy

Author's Notes: Please post your feelings on this story and how Season three is going so far. I'd like some feed-back, positive or not, on how I am doing. So review please. Later.

To Luna's Meow: Yugi doesn't get one of Chaos's rarest cards because that isn't a factor in this tournament.


	11. CJ's new strategy

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 11: CJ's new strategy

_CJ drew and he smiled to Joey. "I think it is time to reveal my new deck strategy. And by the time it is done, you two clowns will be all washed up!"_

He slid the card he had drawn into his duel disk. "First I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards from my deck." He drew two cards and slid one into his disk.

"Now I activate the card that will get my winning strategy started. Activate Awakening of the Spirit! This magic card requires that I sacrifice two monsters from my hand or field to get it started, so I discard the D.D. Crazy Beast (1400/1400) I drew and my Manticore of Darkness to activate my magic card!"

A wave of golden light enveloped CJ and as it cleared he looked completely different. He was wearing a suit of light weight gold armor. In his arms rested a heavy looking and ornately crafted sledgehammer. The weapon pulsed with an inner light that seemed to illuminate the whole field. His duel disk hovered in front of his, as did his hand of cards.

Joey stared at the glowing warrior in awe. "CJ?"

CJ smiled back at his friend and then he brought his attention to his opponents. "No. At the moment I am not CJ. I am Banisher of the Dark." (2800/3500)

Peten took step back to get some distance between himself and CJ. "What kind of strategy is this? By turning yourself into a monster you have accomplished nothing at all."

CJ smirked and hefted the hammer. "We'll see who has accomplished nothing. I will now attack your life points directly Peten!" He picked up into a charge, hammer poised to strike.

Peten tapped a button on his duel disk. "You will attempt to attack my life points, you mean. Reveal Magic Cylinder! This will...." The trap shuddered and exploded. "WHAT!?"

CJ sneered and brought his hammer down on the exposed clown's forehead. Since the blow was only a hologram it didn't do anywhere near as much damage as it could have, but it still dazed the Emissary.

CJ- 7400

Joey- 6900

Peten- 3500

Saggi- 8000

Saggi stared at his dazed partner. "What happened to his trap card?"

CJ slung the hammer over one shoulder. "Banisher of the Dark's special ability allows him to negate any trap effects that try and work on him. End turn."

Peten slowly came to his feet and he drew his card. "You...you think we will be defeated by you!?" He slid a magic card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Combining Forces!" A huge vortex opened up between Saggi and Peten. "Get ready for a whole new duel boys!"

Saggi snickered as he was sucked into the vortex, with Peten following after him seconds later. Their respective fields faded as well.

CJ and Joey stared at each other. "Did we win?"

"Not quite," A stereo voice said from within the vortex. As the smoky swirl disappeared, it revealed a Duel Monster wearing a mask that was half black and half white. He wore regal robes and a silver-black duel disk.

"Now you must contend with one opponent. Combining Forces is a special magic card that fuses two partners together to form a single duelist. This new duelist starts with the combined life totals of his two parts, a new deck and a new starting hand. A new deck master is also created."

All of the spotlights in the area snapped on and framed the new creature in light. "I am Sagen, King of Darkness." (1000/2000)

CJ chuckled and hefted his hammer into a striking position. "You aren't that tough."

Sagen chortled. "Don't you understand yet that brute force won't win you this duel? My deck master ability will make sure of that too." He drew five cards from his new deck and slapped down a monster. "First I summon Saggi the Dark Clown (600/1500) in defense mode." The disfigured dark creature appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Then I set two cards face-down, end turn."

Joey drew and he flipped up one of his two face-down cards. "Go Life Point Removal System! This allows me to pay all but 2000 life points to draw one card from my deck for every 500 life points I have lost because of this!"

CJ- 7400

Joey- 2000

Sagen- 11500

He drew nine cards off the top of his deck and flipped his next card. "Now I activate Aura Armor! It requires that I sacrifice half of my life points, but I can only trigger it when I have 2000 or less life points remaining. It summons a player token to the field with attack and defense equal to half of my life points!" A suit of draconic armor appeared and flew over to snap onto Joey's body. As soon as it was done he looked like a dragon knight. (1000/1000)

CJ- 7400

Joey- 1000

Sagen- 11500

Then Joey slid four cards into his duel disk. "Next up is four cards face-down on my field and the magic card Emergency Provisions. I will sacrifice all four of my set magic and trap cards to gain 1000 life points per card." The four cards exploded and Joey's life points skyrocketed.

CJ- 7400

Joey- 5000

Sagen- 11500

"Next I activate the magic card Red Eyes Transmigration! This ritual requires that I sacrifice a Red-Eyes Black Dragon and a warrior sub-type monster from my field and/or hand." He slid one card into his graveyard. "There's the Red-Eyes! And I'm the warrior!" Then he exploded into flames.

CJ's eyes widened and he considered running in to save his friend, until a being strode out of the flames that left him unable to say anything at all.

The being was wrapped in armor that made it look like a humanoid Red-Eyes Black Dragon. As the fires around it died down the helmeted warrior lifted his head to reveal Joey. "I am the Lord of the Red!" (3400/3000)

CJ snickered and looked over at Sagen. "I bet you're worried now."

The dark king remained silent throughout all of it.

Joey's hand of remaining cards floated behind him. His duel disk floated there too. "Now I activate the magic card Lightning Blade, which raises my attack power by 800 points!" A sword appeared in his hand that was crackling with electrical energy. (4200/3000)

"Now Sagen, get ready...because here I come!" Joey charged across the field, slashing Saggi apart. The pieces of the clown shuddered and then pulled themselves back together.

Sagen chuckled in his stereo voice. "Don't you fools understand that brute force won't beat me that easily? My deck master ability makes all destroyed Clown monsters instantly regenerate." He tapped his duel disk and both of his face-down cards flipped up. "Now I'll make you pay by activating the trap card combo that will wipe you both out! Go Deck Destruction Virus and Deck Annihilation Virus combo!" A purple mist sprayed across the field towards both duelists.

CJ motioned back to one of his face-down cards. "Activate Warrior's Defense! This will defend Lord of the Red from the effect of the Virus. And since Banisher of the Dark is already immune to trap effects, I don't have to worry for myself."

Sagen chortled. "Do you even know what Deck Annihilation Virus and Deck Destruction Virus do? Deck Destruction Virus destroys all monsters in both of your decks and fields that have attack totals of 1500 or higher, while Deck Annihilation Virus attacks all of your monster cards with 1500 or less. All you have left is Lord of the Red and Banisher of the Dark."

Joey frowned as his hand was completely wiped out. His deck was out of monsters now too. ("I've only got one monster remaining.")

CJ looked even more worried. ("That's most of my deck.")

Sagen looked over at CJ. "Well, are you going to take your turn?"

CJ's duel disk popped the top card of his dwindling deck free and the card floated over to him. It hovered in front of him, waiting for his orders. He looked at it and scratched at his chin. ("Hmm...this has real potential if used right.") "I set this card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Sagen drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down on my field." Then he slid another card in. "Now to start you annihilation. I play the continuous magic card Test of Strength." A glowing box appeared around him. Another connecting box appeared around Joey and CJ, though this one was glowing bright red. "Welcome to the proverbial endgame gentlemen. First let's set the barrier strength. By paying all but one life point I will make it so that you will only be able to attack if you somehow get a monster with over 11499 attack points onto the field."

CJ- 7400

Joey- 5000

Sagen- 1

"Now let me explain to you how exactly this works. First off I must send all of my cards to the graveyard." He took all of his cards off of his duel disk and slid them all into the graveyard. All that remained was him and the barrier. "Now the fun part of this game begins. You see, I may not draw anymore cards from my deck for the rest of this game, but in five turns I will win. So I suggest you make this count. Turn one ends now!" Behind him a glowing square lit up.

Joey's duel disk floated to in front of him and he drew. He looked at the card and frowned unhappily. ("This won't help at all.") "End turn."

The red box of energy began to close in on the two and it started to get hotter. The two partners moved a little closer to each other, duel disks still hovering in front of them.

Sagen snickered from underneath his mask. "Do you understand the nature of my card now? In four turns the two of you will be burned alive by this magic card."

CJ drew and slid the card into his hovering duel disk. "This duel is over for you Sagen! Go Heavy Storm!" A heavy tornado picked up from within the box, but quickly died down.

Sagen cackled and clutched his stomach to hold in the laughter. "Oh I'm sorry, but you can't destroy the Test of Strength effect. Such a waste of your two face-down cards."

CJ growled. "End turn."

Behind Sagen another box lit up and the flaming red box around Joey and CJ slid in closer. Now the air around them was starting to shimmer as it got hotter and hotter.

Joey drew and bit his lower lip. "CJ, I think I have a way to move this along."

CJ nodded back to his partner. "I trust you."

Joey slid the card into his duel disk. "Activate Polymerization, fusing Lord of the Red and Banisher of the Dark together to form one ultimate warrior!"

The two duelists were violently thrown aside as their armors combined to create a gold plated version of the Lord of the Red that hovered in the middle of their now combined fields, its new stats hovering above it. "Red Banisher (5000/5000) armor complete. End turn." The box slid in a little closer.

CJ drew and gritted his teeth. "This card won't help me, so I'll discard it. End turn."

A third box lit up behind Sagen. "Keep at it boys. You've got a 5000 monster on the field, but it's going to take more than that to defeat me."

Joey drew and slid his two cards into the graveyard. "Graceful Dice and Skull Dice can't help us here, so I discard them. End turn."

CJ wiped a few gathering beads of sweat from his forehead. It had to be at least one hundred degrees inside the box now. He drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "Excalibur doubles the attack power of our Red Banisher armor." (10000/5000) "End turn."

A fourth square lit up behind Sagen, and the box slid in much closer around the two duelists. Suddenly the temperature inside the box had become about one hundred and fifty degrees.

Fighting off the excruciating pain, Joey drew his next card. He could barely see it through the glow of the fire, but he could tell it was a trap. "Cr...." He collapsed face-first to the dirt of the ring. Just like that CJ was alone in a living hell.

He looked down at his deck, knowing that no card he had would increase the armor's attack by 1500 points. ("We've....lost.") He collapsed face-first to the dirt, the heat around him intensifying. He felt himself slipping into a sleep that he would never wake up from.

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He looked out the window of his office and at the full moon. How he loved to bask in its radiance on nights like this. ("Nights where I know I will emerge as the victor of everything.")

Then he felt it. It was faint, but.... ("The sealed weapon is awakening...")

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(".....no......it.....can't........end.......like this.") CJ found himself slowly coming to his feet, despite the boiling feeling that was coming off of his skin.

Sagen watched this with interest. ("Does he think he can win this with one card? He should just lie down and die.")

Wreathed in the glowing red of the chamber, CJ suddenly seemed a figure straight out of hell. "You....won't....hurt...my.....friends!!!"

Sagen crossed his arms and scoffed. "And you intend to stop me?"

CJ lifted his hand to the air. "Give....me.....strength....please.....Red....Banisher....." The armor shuddered and then snapped on around him. He looked at his duel disk and then at his opponent. ("The flames.....I won't stop.....not yet!")

Sagen snorted derisively. "You can't get to me, fool. The Test of Strength barrier stops you from attacking."

CJ was surrounded by flames now, as the box increased the heat.

And yet through it all Joey wasn't being hurt at all. The fire didn't seem to touch him. A barrier had sprung up that protected him from harm. And the threads of energy from that barrier was coming from CJ.

"Nexus the Conqueror, activate deck master special ability." CJ's voice no longer wavered, though he was being put through excruciating pain. "Nexus allows me to draw cards from my deck until I find an equipment card and place it into my hand instead of drawing this turn." He started to draw off the top of his deck, ignoring the fact that he could see the flesh of his hand bubbling.

("I won't let you hurt any of these people. I won't let you hurt my friends. I swear it! Just give me the strength to protect them!") He drew his next card and slid it into his duel disk. "I activate the Legendary Weapon Card Guardian Maul!!!"

A huge and ornate hammer appeared in front of him. It pulsed with a light all its own, energy flowing around it. He curled his hands around its handle and felt his entire body charge with power. "Its special power transfers the Red Banisher's defense to its attack points, and then it doubles its defense!" (15000/10000)

Sagen trembled at the flowing energy from the Guardian Maul. "This cannot be! How do you have a Legendary Weapon card!?"

CJ slammed right through the barrier, the Maul held high above his head. "NOW DIE!!" He slammed the weapon down on Sagen's head, the fused Emissary exploding into shadows as his soul was banished from this realm.

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Joey awoke to find himself in the middle of clearing in the forest. He looked over at the unconscious body of CJ and slowly climbed to his feet. "What the heck happened?" He walked over to CJ and hefted the bigger man in a fire-man's carry. He sighed and started walking. They'd find somewhere eventually to use as shelter for the night.

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: The Moonlight Thief

Author's Notes: I'm sure this must have been a confusing chapter. It was for me and I wrote it. I will go over it though and simplify it. So please review.

Props to Edo's and his Yugioh page for giving the info on some of Joey's cards that he used in this chapter.


	12. The Moonlight Thief

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 12: The Moonlight Thief

He looked out to the rising sun with a smile upon his face. ("Now it is time to unleash the ultimate weapon upon our guests.") He looked down to the cards on his desk that would up the ante in every duel from this point onwards.

("The Seal of Dark Soul field magic card will revolutionize every duel it is used in.") Soon he would collect the one soul that he wanted to see. ("You will be mine Rikuo Amero. Soon your weapon will be mine and your soul will be too. I will finally be able to claim that which is mine by birthright.")

He tapped a button on his desk. "Send the cards to my Elite Ten."

"Yes milord Envirius."

Envirius looked out upon the forest in front of him and smirked. ("Rikuo....soon you will be mine.")

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Rikuo sneezed for about the fiftieth time since his impromptu landing to the ground. ("I thank whichever gods decided I should be a demon. Anything else wouldn't have taken slamming face-first into a mountainside so well.")

_("You're out of your mind Rikuo. You should be dead.")_

("Doubtful. Whoever went to all of the trouble to bring us here obviously wouldn't have done what they did unless they intended for us to survive the landing.") He brushed his legs off and made sure his sword was tied properly to his waist. ("Let's get out of here and find your friends.")

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Hours later, Rikuo found himself sitting in a nearby tree to get some rest. He had been required to switch places with Daniel at least ten times over the last eight hours. Being a spirit with a limited amount of power caused him a lot of pain in the past with Daniel, but in this dangerous place he was finding that he had to take control more and more often. ("Maybe I'd be better off being the main spirit of this body.")

He sniffed the air and couldn't help but drift to sleep as the sweet smell of fresh flowers reached his nose.

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Rikuo awoke to find that it was night again. That wasn't the first thing he was registering though. The first thing that he was registering in his mind was that someone was about to remove the belt that held his Howling Sword to his waist.

The wolf demon snapped his legs out, expecting to land a kick to the thief's midsection. Instead he found himself falling out of the tree. After tightening the tie on his belt, he drew his Howling Sword and landed with a deafening crash to the ground.

He jumped back just in time to avoid a knife slash aimed for his eyes. The Howling Sword exploded into phantom flame, the blade illuminating the thief's features for Rikuo.

Rikuo found himself surprised to be greeted by a female figure. He snickered and slid into a slightly more offensive posture with his sword. "A female hmmm? Interesting. Do you think you can take me in a fight?"

The woman smirked and brushed her black hair back out of her eyes to reveal crimson irises. "Don't take me lightly wolf. While it may be true that you have strength," A bushy red tail with a white tip unwrapped from her waist, "We Kitsune possess speed and cunning far beyond anything you could hope to have."

Rikuo sniffed the air and frowned at the woman. Though he could admit that she was definitely cute, he wasn't in the mood to find a mate for Daniel at the moment. "What the bloody hell do you want with me, fox?"

She smiled just enough to show off her fangs. "You call me a fox like it is a bad thing. My name is Jasmine Reiner and I challenge you to a duel."

Rikuo wouldn't dare to turn her down, but something about her scent. ("She's not a full demon....and yet she is a full demon. At least by her posture and stance she is a full demon.")

Jasmine's jet black duel disk clicked into place. "Are you ready?"

Rikuo's duel disk clicked into place and he nodded. "Let's duel then. The sooner I beat you the sooner I can get rid of you. I for one never liked the Kitsune very much."

Jasmine drew her five cards and then her sixth. "You will lose this duel to me, wolf."

Rikuo drew his five, though he simply folded his arms and watched her field instead of looking over his cards. "Well? Are you going to play a card or simply pass the turn onto me?"

Jasmine slid two cards into her disk. "Two cards face-down, and I summon Don Zaloog (1400/1500) in defense mode." A man holding onto a pair of pistols appeared on her field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and frowned. ("And of course I get a lousy hand.") "I summon Nightmare Machine (800/2000) in defense mode." A black robot that looked like a demonic vending machine appeared on his field. "Then I set one card face-down. End turn."

Jasmine slid her hand gently over her deck and drew. "Are you ready to see what my deck is all about?" She slid a card into her duel disk. "Go Confiscation! At the cost of 1000 life points I may look at your hand and force you to discard one card from it." She smiled in a sickeningly sweet manner and walked up to him.

Rikuo- 8000

Jasmine- 7000

Rikuo growled darkly and turned his hand around to show her his cards. "Get a nice long look at your doom, wench."

She looked at the four cards he was holding and she giggled. "What a horrible doom I see. A Limiter Removal, a Monster Reborn, a Stress of Battle, and a Lord's Ascension magic card. Terrifying indeed." She tapped her chin and then pointed at the Lord's Ascension. "That one looks the most dangerous. Get rid of it."

Rikuo snarled and was about to slide it into his graveyard, but she snatched it out of his hand with nearly impossible speed.

"No silly. It's going to me anyway." She tapped her duel disk and a card over on her field flipped up. "You see the trap card Mystical Safety Net allows me to pick up any discarded cards and place them into my hand at the cost of 1000 life points.

Rikuo- 8000

Jasmine- 6000

She turned and strolled back over to her field with his card in hand. "Now then, let's continue shall we?"

Rikuo glared at her. "Pick up the pace. I'd like to take my next turn very soon."

She slid her Don Zaloog into the graveyard. "That's fine by me dear. Allow me to summon a monster that should make this duel very interesting indeed. I summon Fox Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode." A fox demon clothed like a ninja appeared on her field and bowed to her. She smiled and blew him a kiss.

Rikuo clenched his fist in anger. ("This...this...She's toying with me!!!")

Jasmine flipped up her other face-down card. "Next is the continuous trap card Robbin' Goblin, which allows me to discard one card from your hand every time I deal you life point damage with a monster."

Rikuo snickered. "Which you won't be able to do since I have a monster in defense mode on my field."

Jasmine slid a card from her hand into her duel disk. "Don't be so sure little wolf, for I play your Lord's Ascension to transform the Fox Demon Lord into the mighty Kitsune Ninja Master!" (2500/1000)

The Fox Demon Lord was engulfed in a flash of golden light, and when it cleared he looked the same as before, though perhaps a little more experienced.

Jasmine smiled and pointed at Rikuo. "Now I use my monster's special ability! At the cost of 1000 life points my Kitsune Ninja Master may attack your life points directly this turn."

Rikuo- 8000

Jasmine- 5000

The fox demon ninja threw a smoke bomb into the ground, disappearing in the grey cloud that appeared.

Rikuo felt something slam him in the back hard and then he watched as the smoke cleared to show the Kitsune Ninja Master back where it belonged.

Rikuo- 5500

Jasmine- 5000

Jasmine smiled innocently. "Now Robbin' Goblin will steal one card from your hand at random." A green-skinned goblin appeared on her field and ran over to Rikuo. It snatched one of the wolf demon's cards and ran off into the distance with it. "That's not all though. Kitsune Ninja Master's special ability also forces you to choose one card in your hand and discard it."

Rikuo already had the card in mind. He slid it into his graveyard and glared at her. "Done yet?"

Jasmine nodded slightly and slid a card into her duel disk. "Sure."

Rikuo drew...

Jasmine motioned to her remaining face-down card. "Activate Drop Off! Now you must discard the card you just drew."

Rikuo looked at the card and smiled. "You just dug your own grave." He slid the card into his graveyard. "Now I activate Monster Reborn on the card you just made me discard! Revive my Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) in defense mode!" The heavily armored wolf demon appeared on the field in a crouching position.

"Then the special ability of my Nightmare Machine activates! I summon a Demon Slime token to my field in defense mode!" The robot shuddered and then it spat out a jet black blob of slime that slithered over next to its creator. "End turn."

Jasmine drew and slapped down a new monster. "I summon another Don Zaloog to add to my theft force. And speaking of theft..." She slid a card into her duel disk. "I activate the magic card Ability Transference. This gives Don Zaloog's ability to my Kitsune Ninja Master." The fox demon threw a smoke bomb into the ground, disappearing instantly. "So you know what's next, correct? I'm going to pay 1000 life points to attack you directly."

Rikuo smirked and flipped up his face-down card. "Sorry little vixen, but not this time. I activate the trap card Widespread Ruin. This will destroy your highest attack monster." The smoke cloud went up in a flash of flame and light.

Jasmine pouted and pointed at the Demon Slime. "Don Zaloog, attack his Demon Slime!" The bandit raised his guns and blew the blob apart. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and motioned to his Nightmare Machine. "Produce a Demon Slime for me." It spat out another blob which immediately exploded into bits. "Now I sacrifice it to summon Jinzo!" (2400/1500) The green metal monster appeared on his field and chuckled coldly.

Jasmine blanched as her Robbin' Goblin trap card shuddered and then went dark.

Rikuo snickered and turned his Wolf Demon Lord card vertical. "Now I switch Wolf Demon Lord into attack mode." The demon samurai came to his feet and drew his weapon, the sword exploding into phantom flames. "Attack Don Zaloog!" The demon snapped its sword up and brought it down, slashing the thief apart.

Rikuo- 5500

Jasmine- 4000

Rikuo pointed at Jasmine. "Jinzo, get her." The metal monster fired a blast of red light out of its eyes that sent her stumbling backwards.

Rikuo- 5500

Jasmine- 1600

The wolf demon crossed his arms across his chest and snickered at the Kitsune. "Do you surrender?"

Jasmine drew and slid the card into her disk. "Card of Demise lets me draw five cards into my hand." She drew her five cards and paled a little at the sight of one.

Rikuo raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What's the matter? Get a bad draw?"

Jasmine looked over at him and shook her head gently. "On the contrary, this is the best possible hand for this situation." She slid one of the five into her duel disk. "First I activate Monster Reborn to revive the Kitsune Ninja Master." There was a burst of smoke on her field and the ninja reappeared.

"Then I activate a card I'm sure you will not like at all." She slid the gold-faced card into her duel disk. "I activate the Legendary Weapon Card Shadow Knives!" A pair of small black daggers appeared in the Kitsune Ninja Master's hands.

Rikuo growled. ("A Legendary Weapon!? How does this wench have one? She can't be the Lord of the Fox Demons, can she?")

Jasmine slid another card into her duel disk. "Then I set one card face-down on my field." She pointed at Jinzo. "Attack his monster now Kitsune Ninja Master!" The black-clothed fox demon nodded and faded away like an illusion, reappearing behind Jinzo and stabbing his weapon right into its spine. The metal creature howled and exploded.

Rikuo- 5400

Jasmine- 1600

Jasmine pointed at Rikuo's deck. "Now I activate the special ability of Shadow Knives. They allow me to steal one card from the top of your deck." The Kitsune Ninja Master grabbed the top card off of the wolf demon's deck and ran over to give it to his mistress. She slid that card into her hand and nodded to Rikuo. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and motioned to his Nightmare Machine. "Give me a Demon Slime." The machine shuddered and spat out a Demon Slime. "End turn."

Jasmine drew and pointed at the Nightmare Machine. "I think I've seen you built up enough of an army. Attack the Nightmare Machine!" The Kitsune Ninja Master leapt across the field and slashed the machine apart with the Shadow Knives. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and snickered. "Get ready little fox, for here I come!" He slid a card into his duel disk. "Go Exchange of Soul! This will switch our graveyards for one turn!" Then he slid his other card into his disk. "Now go Replay! At the cost of half of my life points I will activate a magic card from your graveyard! Go Lord's Ascension!"

Rikuo- 2700

Jasmine- 1600

The Wolf Demon Lord was consumed in a torrent of light. "Now you will face my father, wench. Prepare yourself for his wrath!" As the light cleared a wolf demon in humanoid form wearing golden armor appeared. "Behold the ultimate warrior! Wolf Demon Avatar!" (5500/3000)

Jasmine took a step back from the glowing demon knight. "Incredible..."

Rikuo sneered and pointed at her Kitsune Ninja Master. "I'm so glad you agree! Wolf Demon Avatar, attack her monster with Howling Sword Nova!!" The golden demon leapt forward, its sword burning with golden flame.

Jasmine flipped up her face-down card. "Do I look that unprepared to you? Reveal Seal of Ice! This will trap your monster within a barrier that can only be shattered if you find a way to raise its attack points!" The Wolf Demon Avatar stopped in place, suddenly encased within a purple mass of ice.

Rikuo growled deeply. "For that insult, I'll rip out your throat after we're done. For now though, take your turn." His normally golden-amber eyes were glowing bright red now.

Jasmine seemed oblivious to his anger as she drew. "I suppose you're going to be taking off the kid gloves, correct?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Then so will I. Get ready wolf, because here comes the card that will turn this entire duel into a game like none you have ever played in before!"

She popped open her field magic card slot and slapped a card in. "I didn't want to have to use this, but you leave me little choice in the matter. Activate Seal of Dark Soul!" The field around them began to grow dark, the moon fading away beneath a veil of gloom.

Rikuo had experienced the hells of a darkness game, and yet something about this evil energy he was sensing sent shivers of true fear down his spine. ("Something's wrong with this energy. It's not like when a darkness game has been invoked. In those situations I can feel the presence of a single judging force that simply watches the duel and waits for the winner. Here though...") It felt like the watching force was somewhere on the field with him. "What is this place?"

Jasmine smiled at the wolf demon's obvious fear of this place. "Consider it a darkness game with a truly interesting twist. So, ready to play a game where your soul is on the line?"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The first Dark Soul Duel

Author's Notes: And another new duel system comes into play. Before anyone flames me for it, I did use the Seal of Orichalcos card for the starting idea behind the Seal of Dark Soul. The difference between them will be shown in the next chapter.


	13. The first Dark Soul duel

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 13: The first Dark Soul duel

_She popped open her field magic card slot and slapped a card in. "I didn't want to have to use this, but you leave me little choice in the matter. Activate Seal of Dark Soul!" The field around them began to grow dark, the moon fading away beneath a veil of gloom._

_Rikuo had experienced the hells of a darkness game, and yet something about this evil energy he was sensing sent shivers of true fear down his spine. ("Something's wrong with this energy. It's not like when a darkness game has been invoked. In those situations I can feel the presence of a single judging force that simply watches the duel and waits for the winner. Here though...") It felt like the watching force was somewhere on the field with him. "What is this place?"_

_Jasmine smiled at the wolf demon's obvious fear of this place. "Consider it a darkness game with a truly interesting twist. So, ready to play a game where your soul is on the line?"_

Rikuo frowned and chided himself for letting his fear show. "Silence yourself wench, before I go over there and break you in half."

Jasmine sneered coldly. "Whatever you say, wolf." She slid two cards into her duel disk. "Now I set these two cards face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew and slapped down a monster. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in defense mode! End turn." A blue and yellow machine monster appeared on his field.

Jasmine smiled and drew. "I summon White Magical Hat (1000/600) in defense mode." A man in a blue suit with a white top hat appeared on her field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and watched Jasmine quizzically. ("Why didn't she attack me?") "End turn."

Jasmine drew and frowned. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and continued to watch her intently. "End turn."

Jasmine drew once more and she sighed. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and smiled at her. "You know that when you draw you will lose the rest of your hand. So why did you keep those cards?"

Jasmine lifted her hand up to reveal a tattoo of a black fang on the front. "This is why."

Rikuo sensed something about that tattoo that was truly unnatural. ("No matter though. I can worry about her little drawing later.") "End turn."

Jasmine drew and a guillotine blade appeared out of nowhere, slashing her hand of cards apart. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and chuckled. "Now it's time to get rid of your Seal of Dark Soul." He slid his newest card into his duel disk. "Activate Heavy Storm!" All around him a heavy wind began to pick up. "In just a few seconds all of your trap and magic cards will be blown away."

Jasmine flipped up one of her two face-down cards. "You're almost right. Reveal Weather the Storm. This will negate your Heavy Storm and leave me safe." The wind immediately died down.

Rikuo didn't seem worried though. "Now I'll make you regret not attacking me. I sacrifice my Demon Slime to summon Demon Dragon Lord!" (2400/1000) A dragon demon wearing light armor and wielding a spear appeared on his field. "And I'll also activate the magic card Dark Energy to raise its attack points by 300!" (2700/1300)

Jasmine watched the play impassively. "By all means attack me. You won't win."

Rikuo pointed at the Kitsune Ninja Master. "Dragon Demon Lord attack!" The demon raised back its arm and threw it across the field at the ninja.

Jasmine flipped up her face-down card. "Activate Ninjitsu Art of Decoy! As long as this continuous trap card remains in play my Kitsune Ninja Master cannot be destroyed in battle." The demon ninja snapped its fingers and it disappeared, leaving behind a wooden dummy that was destroyed instead of it.

Rikuo- 2700/5300

Jasmine- 1400/8000

The Kitsune Ninja Master reappeared on her field. "I'm sure you've by now noticed that you have a second life point total. Well first off it isn't for life points. It's for soul points."

Rikuo looked down at his duel disk system in confusion. "What are soul points?"

"When you run out of them your soul will be gone. That is the first special power of the Seal of Dark Soul." Jasmine didn't seem too worried about the fact that she might lose her soul. "That leaves two other special abilities you should be worrying about."

Rikuo already knew she would tell him what they were. Not until she felt like it, at least. "End turn."

Jasmine drew and smiled faintly. "Special ability number two is that at the standby phase of my turn I increase the attack of all monsters on my field by 500 points." She pointed to the Kitsune Ninja Master. "So it's time to give my monster a charge-up." A tattoo of a black fang appeared on the ninja demon's forehead. (3000/1000)

Rikuo grimaced as he looked at his Dragon Demon Lord. ("I'm sorry Ryu.")

Jasmine pointed at the demon. "Attack it now!" The Kitsune Ninja leapt across the field and slashed the dragon demon to pieces.

Rikuo- 2400/5000

Jasmine- 1400/8000

Rikuo frowned at his opponent. "Why didn't your soul points go down?"

Jasmine smiled grimly. "It's because the Dark Soul on the field didn't choose my monster as its target this turn." When all she got in response was blank stare from Rikuo, she sighed and brushed a lock of her hair back. "Currently there is a spirit that is floating around this field at random, selecting one of our monsters as a target each turn. If the selected monster attacks that turn, then the owner loses soul points equal to its attack total. Understand?"

Rikuo understood the concept fine. That didn't mean he liked it though. "Why would you play a magic card like that?"

Jasmine motioned to her opponent. "Shut up and draw, wolf."

Rikuo slid the card he had in his hand into the graveyard as per the effect of her Robbin' Goblin trap card. "Don't you want the top card of my deck?"

She shook her head. "I don't care."

He drew off the top of his deck and slid the card into his duel disk. "Maybe you should have, because I'm activating Pot of Greed thanks to your laziness." He drew two cards off the top of his deck and slid them both into the duel disk slot. "End turn."

Jasmine drew and she slid the card she had drawn into her duel disk. "One card face-down. End turn."

Rikuo drew and took a deep breath. He was starting to get nervous. ("Making mistakes won't help in this darkness game.") "End turn for now."

Jasmine drew and she flipped up her face-down card. "Reveal the continuous trap card Dark Soul Barrier. As long as this trap card remains face-up on the field then my monsters cannot be the target of the dark soul that still wanders our field."

Rikuo felt the pressure building on him. ("She's playing me with a card I cannot figure out how to beat yet.")

She motioned to her Kitsune Ninja Master. "Now I trigger my monster's special ability! As you remember, I may pay 1000 life points to give my monster the power to attack directly!"

Rikuo- 2400/5300

Jasmine- 400/8000

Rikuo flipped one of his two face-down cards. "Negate Attack will stop your monster from attacking this turn."

Jasmine frowned and nodded weakly. "Alright, end turn."

Rikuo drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "One card face-down and end turn."

Jasmine drew and pointed at the X-Head Cannon. "Attack!" The Kitsune Ninja Master leapt across the field and slashed the robot down. "End turn." (4500/1000)

Rikuo looked at his monster-less field and sighed. ("Almost monster-less actually.") He glared angrily over at the frozen Wolf Demon Avatar and clenched his fists. ("I will make you pay for that. I swear it.")

He drew and his eyes widened as he recognized the card, and the possibilities it represented to him. ("That might just work.") He slid the card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Jasmine drew and pointed at him. "Good-bye General. Attack!" The Kitsune Ninja Master leapt across the field, Shadow Knives ready to cut Rikuo down.

The wolf demon tapped a button on his duel disk. "I'm not out of this yet. I won't let you win! Reveal Safeguard!" A steel shield sprang up between him and the Ninja Master. "Now I'm safe for this turn."

Jasmine sighed. "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn." (5000/1000)

Right before Rikuo drew; he felt warmth flush through him. ("This is it. This is the draw that will win me this duel!") His hand pulled the card free and he lifted it up to his eyes. He was greeted by a gold-facing on the card.

"Jasmine," he asked casually, "Your Seal of Ice trap requires that I increase my monster's attack points to free it?"

She nodded. "That's correct. Can you?"

He sneered and slid his card into his duel disk. "Oh yes...." The ice started to crack and an earth-shaking howl could be heard from within the ice. "This is your end! Activate the Legendary Weapon Card Howling Sword!!!" The ice exploded, revealing the Wolf Demon Avatar wielding Rikuo's sword.

Rikuo looked down at the empty sheath at his side and smiled. "Howling Sword raises the user's attack points by 1000 and then doubles that total. Get ready to meet your end fox!" (13000/3000) "Wolf Demon Avatar, attack her Kitsune Ninja Master and destroy her life points! Howling Sword Nova!"

Jasmine stared in horror as the golden demon launched towards her, his entire body wreathed in flames. ("My trap can't stop him!")

Rikuo sneered as the Wolf Demon Avatar slammed its sword down on her monster. "And the duel is mine!" All around them the darkness faded, revealing the forest and the moon once more. "You've failed in defeating me."

Jasmine watched him evenly, her eyes narrowed. "Take a look at the life point scores wolf."

Rikuo- 2400/0

Jasmine- 0/8000

Rikuo stared numbly at his soul point total. ("I forgot...about the dark soul....")

Jasmine smiled and lifted her hand to point at him. "I may have lost the actual duel, but you also lost all of your soul points."

Rikuo felt a sharp pain and then nothingness...

Jasmine felt the same....

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Envirius watched as a pair of crystals appeared on his desk, one purple and one blue. He smiled down at them. "Why hello there Rikuo. What a pleasure to finally meet you." He reached down and picked up the blue crystal, touching it with his consciousness. ("It's time to go and see the general.")

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Meanwhile, the joint body of Daniel/Rikuo stirred...

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Envirius withdrew his mind from the crystal and clenched his fist angrily. "WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS!? THIS ISN'T RIKUO!!!"

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Rikuo opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see a prison for his soul. Instead, he still sat in the forest. Jasmine was gone. ("Daniel, are you alright?")

When silence was his answer, Rikuo felt very cold. ("Daniel!?") Still there was no answer. He hesitantly reached out with his mind to connect to Daniel's thoughts.

All he found was a single, lingering mote of light. As he brushed it vanished, leaving behind a message. _("Rikuo...save my mother. Watch your temper. Help the others. Get me back......")_

Rikuo returned to his mind to feel tears drip down his face. ("He paid for my mistake....") His head lowered to the ground, and then snapped up as he howled into the night sky.

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Envirius snarled and considered shattering the crystal and destroying the soul, but then his moment of anger passed and he found himself staring out his window. With his ears he could hear Rikuo's howls of anguish and rage. ("At least I get the consolation of sending him into despair.")

He sighed and picked up his phone. He pressed a button on his speed-dial. As soon as he heard someone pick up the other end of the line he said, "You've recovered Jasmine's body and her weapon, correct?"

"Of course, did you doubt that I would?"

Envirius chuckled. "Not really. Bring me the Shadow Knives. As for her body, make sure it is kept safe."

"You don't intend to restore her soul?"

Envirius snorted. "Of course not. She failed in the duel."

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For the fiftieth time in the last hour Rikuo blew apart a tree with the Howling Sword. ("DAMN YOU PILKINGTON!")

Finally he was done with his fit of rage. Collapsing to his knees, he took a deep breath and came back to his feet looking as determined as ever. "So be it." He sheathed the Howling Sword and followed his nose, using his sense of smell to help him locate whoever had picked up Jasmine's body.

("And when I find them, I'll find the person who has Daniel's soul in captivity. And when I find that person....") He smiled grimly. "I hope they've got the best health insurance plan on the planet. That way they can recover from the beating I give them, just so I can beat them again and again."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Seto vs. Valeus

Author's Notes: If this chapter was hard to understand, then please forgive me. I need a little bit of practice to get into the habit of writing using the Dark Soul rules system. Later.


	14. Seto vs Valeus

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 14: Seto vs. Valeus

For the fiftieth time since he had woken up this morning, Seto Kaiba muttered a few choice curses towards whoever's sick idea it was to make his trudge to the tournament location on foot.

Ever since the plane crash, he had not been enjoying himself. He had packed supplies with the assumption that he was going to be staying in a nice hotel, not walking through the wilderness for over two days.

He reached the top of the mountain that he had woken up on at around noon, and had finally decided to break for lunch. Though in his opinion, eating rations did not constitute as any kind of meal at all.

As he sat looking out at the valley that waited for him, he wondered if maybe he had been better off waiting in the plane's wreckage.

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Envirius sat back in his chair, looking out at the afternoon sun with a smile on his face.

After his initial reaction to losing Rikuo, he realized that having the wolf demon's other half would be even more helpful to his cause. ("I wanted to crush him with my own deck anyway. Now I have motivation for him to get here sooner.")

He was brought out of his musings by the beeping of his desk. He turned and tapped the intercom button. "What?"

"Sire, we have an intruder in the compound, and he is approaching your location rapidly."

Envirius removed his hand from the intercom button and smirked as he watched his door. "Alright then, let them come. It's been a while since I have had a good fight."

Less than a minute later, the door to his office exploded open. A dark-skinned teenager wearing black clothing strolled in casually through the now open doorway. "I'm here to speak with you."

Envirius laced his hands together and glared at the incredibly insolent tone of the boy. "You talk as though you had a right to intrude."

The boy smirked, his dark violet orbs shimmering. "Of course I do. I don't think you would have let me in if I had asked nicely, so I decided just to forgo the niceties and come in the old fashioned way."

Envirius felt it now. He understood that he was talking with a spirit that radiated dark energy. In fact... "You're Valeus."

Valeus smirked and performed a little bow. "I'm honored that I am known by one as powerful as you. How did you come across my name?"

Envirius was scowling now. "It's hard not to hear about someone as despicable as you. Even by my standards you are a scumbag."

Valeus continued to smirk, the insults fueling his pride.

"In fact Valeus, I know all too well who you are. You are the ancient demon mage that went on a rampage during the feudal era, killing millions of humans and demons alike. You were such a threat that for the first time in a thousand years the twelve demon lords combined their powers and sealed you away in the plane of darkness."

Envirius lay back in his chair. "The question I have on my mind is how exactly did you escape your inter-dimensional prison? And what the hell would you want with me?"

Valeus snickered. "I escaped thanks to luck. A human boy had challenged one of your lower henchmen to a darkness game. He quickly had his soul taken away, and I simply used the opportunity to slip into his body. As for what I want with you? I want power. I want my powers back. So far I have been only able to kill single beings where originally I possessed the power to kill thousands in one spell. Since you are the one who is organizing this little magical adventure, I thought that perhaps you and I could come to a deal?"

Envirius tapped his fingertips together a couple of times as he pondered this unexpected little development. "Perhaps we can. I do have an opening in my ranks for an Emissary, and you do possess the knowledge of ages at your disposal."

Valeus crossed his arms underneath the folds of his make-shift cloak. "Why not test me? If I succeed in your test then you allow me this opening."

Envirius had just the challenge in mind too. "Alright, that sounds acceptable. You are going to duel an opponent of incredible skill. If you succeed, then the spot is yours and you will begin your rise to power."

Valeus smirked arrogantly. "I'm glad we could come to this agreement. Shall we shake on it?"

Envirius snickered. "Don't tempt me to kill you. Now go."

Valeus bowed once again and turned, casually strolling out through the ruined remains of Envirius's door.

The dark-suited businessman frowned and tapped the button on his desk. "Make sure that our 'intruder' is given the following supplies before he leaves..."

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Kaiba looked up at the full moon and for about the hundredth time today he muttered a curse to whoever thought it funny to do this to him.

"Greetings Seto Kaiba," A voice from behind him casually said.

Kaiba, while surprised, kept any and all feeling in check. He slowly turned and found himself face to face with Deondre Anderson. "Well, if it isn't Pilkington's peanut gallery. What do you want?"

Valeus held up his arm to show off his new silver and black duel disk. "I challenge you to a duel. If I win then you will give me all three of your Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

Kaiba frowned at the demands. "And what exactly would make me want to risk my three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards? What could you possibly offer me?"

Valeus's next words were all the incentive Kaiba needed to hear to duel. "If you win then I will tell you where to find your brother."

Kaiba turned to fully face Valeus, his duel disk clicking into place. "So you work for Shadow Corporation now? How interesting. Perhaps I underestimated your resourcefulness."

Valeus clicked his duel disk into place. "Seto Kaiba...I am not longer Deondre Anderson. You may simply call me Valeus."

The young CEO snorted and drew his five cards. "I could care less what your name is. By the time I am done with you it won't matter anyway."

Valeus drew his five and then his sixth. "Heh...Why don't we up the ante of this duel? Are you ready to lose your soul Kaiba?" He popped open his duel disk's field magic card slot and slid a card into it. "I'll start this duel off with the field magic card Seal of Dark Souls!" All around them the air began to turn black and gray, the very life of the area being forced out by the dark magic of Envirius's personal power that was infused within the magic card.

Valeus snickered and held up his hand to show the black fang tattoo that now rested on it. "As long as this field magic card remains in play all of my monsters will gain 500 extra attack points. That's not all though. Take a look at your duel disk Kaiba."

Kaiba glanced down at his disk and blinked in confusion at what he was seeing. "I have two life point totals?"

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Valeus- 8000/8000

Valeus chuckled at the CEO's misconception. "Of course not. The second total is your soul points. If you run out of either you will lose this game, so be careful. You can lose life points as normal, but...." He stopped himself.

"Perhaps it is better if I show you what I mean." He slipped a card out of his hand and placed it into his disk. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician (2400/1700) in attack mode." A purple and grey robed mage appeared on his field. "Then I set one card face-down on my field. End turn."

Kaiba drew and frowned at the fact that he was already facing off against a 2400 attack point monster. ("Not that it will matter. I will take on any challenge if it will get Mokuba back.")

He looked down at his hand and smiled at the combo he already saw forming. "I summon Death Gremlin (1600/1800) in defense mode." A tall, dark green humanoid reptile appeared on his field in a crouching position. "And I'll set two cards face-down." The two cards appeared in front of him on the field. "End turn."

Valeus drew, glanced at his cards, and then smirked arrogantly. He tapped a button on his duel disk. "First I flip up the continuous trap card Dark Soul Barrier, which will defend me against a special effect of my Seal of Dark Souls card."

He slid a card into his duel disk. "Next I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck." He drew and slid another card into his disk. "Then I play Gather Your Mind, which lets me search my deck another copy of itself and place it into my hand." He popped free his deck and searched amongst the cards for the next Gather Your Mind. He quickly found it and slid it into his hand.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes as he figured out his opponent's strategy. ("He's planning on playing three magic cards so that he can summon the Dark Magician to his field.")

Valeus slid a third card into his duel disk. "Now I'll play the magic card Poison of the Old Man. This allows me to either deal you 800 life points in damage or gain 1200 life points. I decide to raise my life points by 1200." He was enveloped by a green glow that invigorated him.

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Valeus- 9200/8000

Valeus motioned to his Skilled Dark Magician. "Now I activate the special ability of my magician. Since I have played three magic cards, it now has three magic counters on it. When it has three magic counters on it I may send it to the graveyard to special summon the Dark Magician (3000/2100) from my deck to the field." The purple and grey mage exploded into digital bits to be replaced by the purple-robed form of a spellcaster that Kaiba hated all too well.

The CEO smirked as he considered just what was about to happen to his opponent though. "You've activated my trap cards! Reveal Ring of Destruction and Barrel Behind the Door!" A metal ring with grenades attached to it appeared around the spellcaster's neck and a golden gun appeared on Kaiba's field.

"Ring of Destruction will destroy your monster and deal its attack in damage to both of us." He own arrogant smirk widened. "Or it would if not for my Barrel Behind the Door trap card, which will reflect the damage that I would take back at you."

Valeus looked at the trap card combo and chuckled. "That is a fairly impressive play. Go right ahead and destroy my Dark Magician."

Kaiba tapped a button on his duel disk. "As you wish fool! Activate damage combo now!" There was an echoing click as the Ring of Destruction exploded, destroying the Dark Magician instantly. At the same time the golden gun fired at Valeus, sending a spray of flame and smoke against the Emissary's body.

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Valeus- 3200/2000

And through it all Valeus continued to smirk. His hand reached up and slid a card free from his remaining five. "All right, now that you effectively think me beaten, it's time to bring your hopes of victory crashing down." He slid the card into his duel disk. "I activate the continuous magic card Dark Soul Engine." Right next to him on the field, a large jet black machine appeared and started to whine curiously. "Now I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (2300/800) in attack mode."

A masked monk appeared on his field and began to chant. "Kycoo, attack his Death Gremlin with Banishment Ofuda." The monk nodded and flicked a piece of paper across the field. When it hit the Death Gremlin the green-skinned monster howled in pain and exploded.

Valeus slid two of his remaining cards into his duel disk. "Now I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Kaiba drew and immediately slid the card into his duel disk. "First let's increase my options by playing Pot of Greed." He drew two cards off the top of his deck and slid one of them into his disk. "I'll set one card face-down."

He snatched a monster and slapped it down. "Now I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in defense mode." A two-headed dragon appeared on his field with its wings folded around itself. "End turn."

Valeus drew and slapped down a new monster. "Now I summon Gemini Elf (2400/900) in attack mode." A pair of female elves appeared on his field. "Ladies, if you would please show our dear Seto Kaiba that he can't win?"

The two elves placed their hands together and began to chant, a ball of glowing energy developing right in front of them. "Attack Twin-Headed Behemoth now!" They unleashed the ball and blew the dragon apart. The pieces of it shuddered and then came back together.

Kaiba glared coldly at his opponent. "You've triggered my Twin-Headed Behemoth's special ability. When they are destroyed by an opponent's effect or attack, they immediately reform on my field with lowered stats." (1000/1000)

Valeus pointed at the Twin-Headed Behemoth. "Kycoo, blow it away! Banishment Ofuda!" The monk threw another slip of paper that blew the dual-headed dragon into oblivion. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and snickered. "I hope you liked making me wait to destroy you. Because the wait is over!" He tapped a button on his duel disk and his face-down card flipped up. "I activate the magic card Heavy Storm, which will destroy all magic and trap cards on the field!" A heavy wind picked up around them and Valeus's cards began to shudder.

The Emissary tapped a button on his duel disk and one of his face-down cards flipped up. "I reveal the trap card Magic Drain. If you wish for your Heavy Storm to continue then you are going to have to discard a magic card from your hand."

Kaiba frowned and slid one of the cards he was holding into his graveyard. "That's fine with me. You'll be losing a lot more than I will."

Valeus tapped another button on his duel disk. "Actually I won't. I activate my other face-down card. Reveal Dark Magic Barricade!" He slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "By discarding a spellcaster sub-type monster I may negate any magic card you play." The wind instantly died down.

Kaiba looked down at his three remaining cards and was glad he still had a combo that he had yet to exploit. "You may have thwarted my magic card, but now you have no more face-down cards. So I can play these last three cards without interruption."

He slammed one card into his duel disk. "First up is the magic card Enemy Controller! At the cost of 1000 life points I may either destroy one monster on your field or seize control of one creature on your field. I choose to seize control of a monster." He pointed to the Gemini Elf. "Now come to me!"

Kaiba- 7000/8000

Valeus- 3200/2000

The pair of elves floated over to Kaiba's field and then exploded into dust. "Now I sacrifice them to summon my Emerald Dragon (2400/1400) in attack mode." A huge green dragon appeared on Kaiba's field and roared. "Now destroy his Kycoo!" The dragon opened its jaws and sprayed out a burst of flame that instantly consumed the monk.

Kaiba- 7000/5600

Valeus- 5400/4300

Kaiba stared down at his life point gauge in confusion. "What happened? Why did I lose soul points? And why did you gain life points instead of lose them?"

Valeus snickered and motioned to the black and grey mist that pulsed around them. "Allow me to explain the second special ability of my Seal of Dark Souls. Not only does it give all of my monsters 500 extra attack points, but it also summons a Dark Soul Token to the field. At the beginning of each player's turn the Dark Soul Token finds a random monster and attaches to it. Whenever the attached monster attacks, the owner of it loses soul points equal to its attack power."

Valeus motioned to his Dark Soul Barrier trap card. "Thanks to this trap though, the dark soul cannot target my monsters. That means that it will be specifically your problem Kaiba."

His hand pointed at the black machine next to him. "As for why my life points and soul points went up? It's all thanks to this little machine. As long as Dark Soul Engine is on the field, I will gain life and soul points equal to the amount of soul points an opponent loses because of the dark soul attachment effect of my Seal."

Kaiba could already see just how dangerous this combo his opponent had was. "That means that whenever I attack with the marked monster then you will not take any damage at all from battle. The best I could hope to achieve is no change in your life points."

Valeus sneered and nodded. "Exactly right, Seto Kaiba. Do you understand now that you cannot win as long as my combo remains on the field? Or would you like to continue losing?"

Kaiba gave an icy glare to his opponent for an answer to that question. "My brother's life is on the line. I will not lose!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Valeus's Life Gain Defense


	15. Valeus' Life Gain Defense

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 15: Valeus's Life Gain Defense

_Kaiba gave an icy glare to his opponent for an answer to that question. "My brother's life is on the line. I will not lose!"_

He glanced at the last card in his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "I set this face-down on my field." The set card appeared in front of him. "End turn."

Valeus drew and slid one card into his duel disk. "There isn't much I can do for now. I guess I'll set this and end my turn." He smirked at his opponent.

Kaiba returned the smirk with another cold glare. He drew and slapped down a new monster. "You may have my Emerald Dragon marked by your Dark Soul Token, but what about my new monster?" A Minotaur wielding a battle axe appeared on his field. "I summon Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode."

Valeus tapped a button on his duel disk. "That's not a problem at all. I activate the trap card Bottomless Trap Hole." A hole opened under the Battle Ox's feet and dropped the creature out of sight. "This will remove your monster from play."

Kaiba's glare intensified and he slid the monster card into a pocket on his jacket. "End turn."

Valeus drew a card and slid it into his duel disk. "Just like I did before, I'll just set one card face-down and end my turn."

Kaiba drew his card and his glare softened enough to show a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You have a good strategy Valeus, but what good is it without your field magic card?" He slid the drawn card into his duel disk. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! This will destroy one magic or trap card on the field! So let's get rid of that annoying Seal of Dark Souls!" A sharp wind blew across the field towards Valeus.

The Emissary smirk didn't diminish. "Do you think a card like that can defeat the Seal of Dark Souls?" The wind blast slammed against his field, only to quickly die down.

Kaiba looked over at Valeus's face-down card, expecting to see it face-up. Strangely though, it was still face-down on his field. "How did your field magic card survive my attack?"

Valeus chuckled mockingly. "Seal of Dark Souls cannot be destroyed that easily. It requires an effect of much more power than a simple magic card to be destroyed. Sorry Kaiba, but you just wasted your card."

Kaiba looked down at his duel disk and frowned. "End turn."

Valeus drew and slid another card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down and end my turn. Want to try and waste more cards against me Seto?"

Kaiba drew and he pursed his lips as he thought about how he could use this card. ("I had best play it safe and set this face-down for now.") He slid the card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Valeus drew and yawned. "You're starting to bore me Seto." He waved dismissively to his opponent to show he was done with his turn.

Kaiba drew and a cruel smile found its way onto his face. "Alright then Valeus. If I can't attack your life points, then how about I attack your deck instead?" He slid the card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Virus Cannon!" A mechanical spider with a laser attached to its back appeared on his field and swerved the cannon to aim at Valeus.

"This will destroy the top ten magic cards in your deck! So say good-bye to some of your best strategies." The cannon fired a beam of purple light that struck Valeus's deck. The stack of cards began to give off a purple smoke as the top ten magic cards faded from it, leaving it much thinner than before.

Valeus chuckled at his opponent. "You think that will stop me?" He tapped a button on his duel disk. "I activate the trap card Deck Revival and the quickplay magic card Share the Loss. First Share the Loss will force you to lose the same number of cards as I did, so say good-bye to the top ten cards of your deck."

Kaiba clenched his fist as he watched top ten cards vanish.

Valeus pointed at his Deck Revival card. "And this lovely little card lets me return all cards that I just lost back to my deck." His deck slot shimmered and then reappeared at its original size. "Anything else you would like to try?"

Kaiba glared at the Emissary. "Take...your...turn." He said each word with incredible amounts of venom.

Valeus drew and slapped down a monster. "I set this in defense mode. End turn."

Kaiba drew and felt both a little bit of relief and despair at the same time. ("My Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I'd love to summon it, but I only have one monster on the field to...") He remembered what his face-down card was.

"I flip up my face-down card. Reveal Soul Exchange! This allows me to forfeit my battle phase and sacrifice your monsters in place of my own. So I'll sacrifice both your monster and mine to summon my ultimate beast!" The two player's monsters exploded into dust when Kaiba threw down his card. "I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) to my field!" The enormous form of Kaiba's favorite dragon appeared on the field and roared at Valeus.

Valeus watched the dragon's arrival with his arrogant smirk still on his face. "Too bad you can't attack me this turn Seto."

Kaiba nodded to his opponent. "Now take your turn knowing that the moment I get rid of your combo that my dragon will be breathing right down your neck."

Valeus drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down on my field." He took his other card and placed it horizontal on his duel disk. "I'll also set this monster face-down on my field. End turn."

Kaiba drew and slapped down a new card. "I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode!" A demonic warrior wielding a wicked sword appeared on his field, its long tongue trailing over its teeth as it eyed Valeus hungrily.

The ex-demon mage didn't seem very worried. "Oh no...he has gotten another monster onto his field. Whatever shall I do?" Each word dripped with sarcasm.

Kaiba pointed at the face-down monster. "Vorse Raider attack!" The creature howled and charged across the field, slashing the card apart.

Valeus picked up the monster card and slid it into his graveyard. "Want to attack my life points directly?"

("With every fiber in my entire being,") Kaiba mentally answered. He knew if he did though then his opponent would simply gain back the lost life points immediately, and in the end the only one of the two of them that would walk away worse would be him. "End turn."

Valeus drew and snickered at his opponent. "And now the fun part of the game begins. Since the Dark Soul Token chooses its target randomly, you now have a chance of wiping out my life points with your monsters. Just keep in mind that if you guess wrong then I will gain life points and you will lose soul points. End turn."

Kaiba drew and looked between his two monsters. ("Now which one has the Dark Soul attached to it?") He knew that he had no choice but to at least try and attack. He pointed at Valeus. "Vorse Raider attack!" The creature howled again and charged across the field to strike down Valeus.

The Emissary tapped a button on his duel disk. "That's too bad for you Seto. Not only did you pick the monster that had the Dark Soul Token attached to it, but I also activate the quickplay magic card Dark Wall of Air! This will defend my life points from all direct damage this turn." A black barrier of wind sprang up between him and the Vorse Raider, stopping it in its tracks.

Kaiba- 7000/3700

Valeus- 7300/6200

Kaiba growled quietly and slid the card he was holding into his duel disk. "I will defeat your defense. End turn."

Valeus drew and slid his two cards into his duel disk. "That's a nice load of crap you are shoveling Kaiba, but let's be realistic. Your deck doesn't possess any card that has the power to defeat my Seal of Dark Souls. Now take your turn and watch as you are forced to sit back and let me get together the necessary strategy to wipe you out."

Kaiba drew and suddenly a burst of inspiration came to him as he looked at the card he had just drawn. ("It's not the best way to get around the Seal of Dark Souls, but it's better than nothing.") He tapped a button on his duel disk. "I activate my face-down card. Go Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!"

A huge, faintly draconic shape made of flames appeared on his field. "This card requires I send a level five or higher dragon on my field back to my hand to use it." His Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared and then faded off the field as he picked it up off the disk and placed it in his hand next to his other card. "In return though it will destroy all magic and trap cards on the field, leaving your combo completely useless!"

Valeus laughed darkly and tapped a button on his duel disk. "You're screwing yourself over Kaiba. Now you only have one monster on the field to protect yourself with. As for your magic card, I flip up another Magic Drain to deal with it. Can you discard a magic card from your hand to power the effect of your Wingbeat of Giant Dragon?"

Kaiba shook his head and watched as the flaming dragon faded away. "You don't even understand what I have just done, do you?"

Valeus raised an eyebrow. "Apparently I don't."

Kaiba gave off that cruel smile again. "Since there is only one monster left on my field, your Dark Soul Token must have attached to it. Therefore..." He grabbed the card in his hand next to his Blue-Eyes White Dragon and he threw it down. "...I can summon Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) knowing perfectly well that it can attack you!" A blue-armored creature with a harpoon appeared on his field.

Valeus frowned as he realized that Kaiba was right. "It doesn't matter though. You won't be able to take me out with just one attack from something that weak."

Kaiba pointed at his opponent. "We all have to start somewhere. Kaiser Seahorse, attack his life points directly!" The monster nodded and shot across the field, slamming its harpoon down on Valeus's shoulder.

Kaiba- 7000/3700

Valeus- 5600/4500

Kaiba didn't dare celebrate yet though. The duel still was not won. "End turn."

Valeus drew and frowned at the card he had gotten. "What a waste of a draw. End turn."

Kaiba drew and slid his Kaiser Seahorse into his graveyard. "Now I sacrifice my Kaiser and use its special ability to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to the field." He slapped the monster down and the enormous dragon reappeared on his field.

Valeus snickered as he looked his opponent's field over. "Well it looks like we are right back where we started, hmm Seto?"

Kaiba flipped up his face-down card. "Not quite. I reveal Dimension Hole, which will take my Blue-Eyes White Dragon off of the field until the standby phase of my next turn." A black portal opened in the sky above the dragon and sucked it in, taking the monster out of the game for a turn. "End turn."

Valeus drew and growled. "Another useless card! I have no choice but to end my turn."

Kaiba drew and watched as his Blue-Eyes returned to his field. "Now, since my dragon wasn't on the field at the beginning of the turn, which would mean that, once again the Dark Soul Token is attached to my Vorse Raider."

His eyes continued their icy glare as he pointed at Valeus. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his life points directly with Burst Stream!" The dragon opened its jaws and charged up a huge lump of energy. It spat the power out as a bullet of light that slammed into the Emissary's chest and sent him sliding backwards a few feet.

Kaiba- 7000/3700

Valeus- 2600/1500

Kaiba glanced down at his drawn card and slid it into his duel disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Valeus drew and his smirk returned. "Now you are finished Seto Kaiba. I play the magic card Enraging Taunt. This forces one monster on your side of the field of my choice to attack me directly right now."

Kaiba closed his eyes and smiled slightly. "Are you sure it is worth the risk? Since the Dark Soul Token chooses its target at random, you might just be bringing the unmarked monster directly to your life points."

Valeus pointed at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "I'm prepared for the consequences if I am wrong. So come and get me Blue-Eyes!"

Kaiba nodded and pointed at Valeus. "You heard him, Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up a glowing ball of light within its jaws that it quickly spat out in a burst at the Emissary. The CEO looked down at his life point counter and smiled coldly. "Looks like you chose the wrong monster."

Valeus flipped up his face-down card. "Activate Emergency Defense!" He slid his two cards into his graveyard. "I can only activate this trap card by discarding two cards from my hand. When it is activated though, your monster's attack with be stopped and I will be able to draw one card from my deck." A glowing field of light snapped up in front of him and absorbed the Burst Stream. He drew off the top of his deck and slid the card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and slid his new card into his disk. "I set this card face-down on my field. Now I'll attack your life points with Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Even if it is the marked monster, I'll still deal you enough damage to end this duel. Burst Stream!" The dragon opened its jaws and spat out another bullet of light.

Kaiba- 7000/700

Valeus- 5600/4500

Valeus's smirk was so wide it looked like he might break his face by doing it. "It's over Kaiba. Not only did you forget about my life gain combo, but you have also run right into my trap. Reveal my trap card, Magic Cylinders!" A pair of cups appeared on the field and one of them sucked up the dragon's attack. The other one teleported in front of Kaiba. "Do you have any last words before your soul becomes property of Envirius?" He snapped his fingers, not even giving his opponent a chance to speak. "Time's up."

Kaiba's eyes widened as the cylinder released the energy from his dragon's attack right at his life points. ("Mokuba...I'm sorry...") Then he felt the blast engulf him and there was a stinging pain as his soul was removed from his body.

Kaiba- 4000/0

Valeus- 5600/4500

Valeus chuckled as he watched Seto's lifeless body crumple to the ground. "I wonder what I would have drawn if I hadn't of cheated?" He asked the question, though he didn't expect an answer.

He watched as an indigo crystal of light lifted into the air and started to float away. He smirked up at it and waved. "Bye Seto Kaiba. Enjoy an eternity trapped in there."

"It's....not.....over...."

Valeus froze and looked down at Kaiba's body. "What?"

Slowly Kaiba's body got to its feet. "I said it isn't over yet Valeus." Up above him the crystal froze in place.

Valeus took a few cautious steps back and glanced down at the life point counter on his disk. "Of course it is over. Look at your soul..." His eyes widened in confusion at what he saw.

Kaiba- 4000/8000

Valeus- 5600/4500

He snapped his gaze up and realized that the hologram system was still on as well. ("This cannot be possible. Kaiba lost all of his soul energy when he lost the duel. Yet suddenly he is at full soul points?")

He looked up at the indigo crystal that still hovered up in the air and stared at it in confusion. ("And if he's still in his body then who is up there?") He racked his brain for an answer to the question. Then it came and he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Well this isn't something I expected at all. Though I suppose it is fair play considering how I took over for your duel without your permission, eh Deondre?"

Deondre, through the eyes of Seto Kaiba, glared at his own body. "I challenge you right now to a darkness game. Same soul and life point totals, same field. If you win you get his soul, my soul and the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons." He smirked confidently. "But if I win then I get my body back and your soul takes our place."

Valeus scratched at his chin in thought. "Interesting..." He smirked and walked back to his field. "I accept your challenge, for when I defeat you this body will be mine completely and utterly, for the rest of its lifespan."

Deondre continued to smile confidently. "Get ready body-snatcher! The dimension duelist is back...and he's out for your blood!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Return of the Dimension Duelist


	16. Return of the Dimension Duelist

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 16: Return of the Dimension Duelist

_Deondre continued to smile confidently. "Get ready body-snatcher! The dimension duelist is back...and he's out for your blood!"_

Valeus rolled his eyes and drew. "I suppose that since this is a new duel we should start with a new hand." He slid the card into his duel disk. "I activate Card of Sanctity. This forces us both to draw until we have six cards in our hand." He began to draw cards off of his deck slowly, that arrogant smirk saying that he was getting exactly what he needed.

Deondre drew his six and returned the smirk. "Trust me Valeus; you've got no idea what I have in store for you."

Valeus slid three cards into his duel disk. "And you have no idea what the Seal of Dark Souls has in store for you. I trigger the Seal's fourth special ability right now!" The darkness around him began to warp into a form on his field. "By sacrificing my first special ability of adding 500 attack points to all of my monsters, I may special summon Dark Soul Fiend (0/0) to my field." As the darkness finished forming, it revealed a black demon wielding a whip and sword. The creature looked at Deondre and sneered, snapping the whip back and forth.

Deondre frowned and looked down at his hand. "So how exactly is that walking pile of zero attack points supposed to hurt me?"

Valeus snickered. "I'm glad you asked. You see, the Dark Soul Fiend has numerous abilities. The first of which destroys all monsters on both of the fields except for itself. So say good-bye to all of your monsters." The demon snapped its whip in an arch and shattered both Deondre's Blue-Eyes White Dragon and his Vorse Raider.

Through Kaiba's eyes, Deondre could see that alone was bad enough. ("What he said though...numerous abilities...?")

Valeus slid his three remaining cards into the graveyard. "Now Dark Soul Fiend's special ability number two allows me to discard cards from my hand to permanently raise its attack points by 1000 per card." The fiend howled as it suddenly became the size of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. (3000/3000)

Deondre looked down at Kaiba's remaining face-down card. ("I hope you had something good planned before you left.")

Valeus smirked at the boy whose body he inhabited. "So tell me Deondre, how exactly did you get into Kaiba's body in the first place? I didn't think you knew any magic."

Deondre smiled in a way that seemed uncharacteristic on Kaiba's face. "You don't hang around ancient demons and spirits for a month and not start getting used to weird stuff happening. I just used willpower and climbed into the hole that I saw in Kaiba's body."

Despite the fact he was going to have to destroy the boy, Valeus had to admit that he was impressed. "Not many humans figure out that simple fact about soul transference. I commend you boy, you're more clever than most. It's a shame I'm going to have to crush your soul."

He pointed at Deondre. "Dark Soul Fiend, attack with Demon's Whip!" The demon howled and launched across the field, intent on slamming its whip down across Deondre's body.

Tapping a button on his duel disk, Deondre prayed for a miracle. "Reveal face-down card!" The card flipped and he felt his confident smile return to his face. "Negate Attack stops your attack and leaves me unharmed." A swirling vortex appeared and stopped the demon's attack.

Valeus frowned but nodded his consent. "Alright, you've bought yourself one turn. Make it count."

Deondre drew. ("I hope he's not expecting me to play using Kaiba's strategies. I've got something far more ingenious planned than that.") "First I play the magic card D.D. Beacon!" A green engine appeared on his field.

Valeus narrowed his eyes at the sight of the machine. "How did that get into Kaiba's deck? He shouldn't have such a card at his disposal."

Deondre answered the question with a simple, "Who ever said that I was playing with Kaiba's deck?" He slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down on my field. Then I summon D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) in defense mode." A woman in a grey bodysuit appeared on his field in a crouching position. "Then I'll end my turn." There was now a glowing mote of light over his D.D. Beacon.

Valeus drew and slid the card into his graveyard. "This is just another useless card that I can use to increase the power of my Dark Soul Fiend." (4000/4000)

Deondre flipped up one of his face-down cards. "I hope you didn't plan to attack this turn, because I activate the trap card Dimensional Warp! This will send your Dark Soul Fiend out of play for one turn." There was a flash of light and the demon disappeared.

Now two motes of light hovered over the D.D. Beacon.

Valeus smirked. "Very well boy, you've stopped me for now. End turn."

Deondre drew and watched as the Dark Soul Fiend reappeared on his opponent's field. "It's nice to see you again, ugly."

He slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down." Then he slid his D.D. Warrior Lady card into the graveyard. "Now I summon my ultimate defender! D.D. Dragon (1200/1500) is defense mode!" A crystalline dragon appeared on his field with its wings folded in on itself. Now there were three counters on the D.D. Beacon. "End turn."

The very second Valeus drew his Dark Soul Fiend disappeared off the field.

Deondre held up his second Dimension Warp trap card. "Once again, denied." Now there were four counters on his D.D. Beacon.

Valeus looked at the single card and his smirk was starting to wane. "End turn."

Deondre drew his next card and nodded. "Here it comes. Get ready Valeus!"

Valeus didn't like that tone of finality the boy's voice had. "What are you talking about? You couldn't have anything that could be that bad to me."

"That's what you think. I, however, think much more realistically." Deondre slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Soul Release! This allows me to remove up to five monsters from any player's graveyard! I choose to remove the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard and the Dark Magician from yours."

He pressed a button on his duel disk and one of his cards flipped up. "Now I activate the trap card Return from a Different Dimension, which at the cost of half of my life points will revive as many monsters from one players removed from play pile as I wish. I choose to return my Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field!" A portal opened up behind him and the enormous head of the dragon emerged from it.

Deondre- 2000/8000

Valeus- 5600/4500

Deondre smiled even wider. "Now all I need is my Dark Magician back from your removed from play pile."

Valeus snickered. "That's not very likely. You yourself just said that your trap card only brings monsters out from one players removed from play pile."

"You need to start paying attention Valeus. I activate this, Monster Returned!" Deondre slid a card from his hand into his duel disk and grinned as the Dark Magician appeared on his field. "This will revive one monster from either player's removed from play pile to my control."

Valeus chuckled. "What do you expect to do against me with a pair of monsters that I can easily defeat with my Dark Soul Fiend?"

Deondre looked over at the five motes of light that were hanging over his D.D. Beacon. "Just watch and see." Cracks started to appear along the frame of the green device. "You know what this means? It means you're finished. D.D. Beacon requires that I play five cards with Dimension or D.D. in their title for it to work." The Beacon shuddered and blew apart to reveal a floating suit of glowing blue crystal armor. "The almighty power of my Dimensional Armor stasis magic card has been summoned."

Valeus stared at the crystal armor. "What is that supposed to do to me?"

"Alone? It will do nothing. Its purpose is to summon two of my most powerful monsters to the field." Deondre pointed at the Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "This is the end of this duel." He slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "Go Forked Magic! This will split the effect of my Dimensional Armor to both of my monsters!" The crystal armor and the two monsters disappeared in an explosion of crystalline light that broke through the gloom of the Seal of Dark Souls.

The light died down to reveal a tall and blond magician wearing crystalline blue robes and a crystal blue staff. "This is my personal favorite monster. Different Dimension Dark Magician (2700/2700) in attack mode." The mage bowed to his master. "Now I'll trigger his special ability. Go Dimensional Banishment!" The magician raised his palm and aimed it at the Dark Soul Fiend. A portal opened up right beneath its feet and sucked it in. "Now your creature has been removed from the game, meaning that your Seal of Dark Souls is gone."

Valeus motioned to the darkness that still hovered around him. "That's where you are wrong, human. The Seal of Dark Souls cannot be destroyed by such weak effects!"

Deondre shrugged and pointed to the clearing pillar of light next to his magician. "I really don't care. This other monster will put you in your place." The light faded to reveal a creature that looked exactly like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, except that it was formed completely of blue crystal. "Different Dimension Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3500/3000) in attack mode." The dragon howled and faded out of sight. "Its special ability is what makes it so deadly to you though. When it is summoned to the field it may immediately attack your life points directly!"

Valeus stumbled back in sudden fear as the dragon appeared right in front of him and sprayed him with energy. As the blast cleared, he stumbled out of hit clutching his chest in pain. "Why....you...."

Deondre- 2000/8000

Valeus- 2100/1000

Deondre slid the last card he was holding into his duel disk. "From the looks of your soul point total you are almost finished Valeus. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

The ex-demon mage looked down at his deck and then up at the two dimensional monsters on his opponent's field. "Impressive monsters indeed. There's only one problem with them."

Deondre crossed his arms across his chest. "Oh? What's that?" As Valeus drew, Deondre could feel the waves of dark energy that were coming off of him. ("He's cheating again...")

Valeus looked at his card and smirked fully. "They aren't immune to the effects of my Seal of Dark Souls." He tapped a button on his duel disk and one of the face-down cards on his field flipped up. "Graceful Charity lets me draw three cards and then discard two of them into my graveyard." He drew his three and then slid two into his graveyard slot. "Heh...you're in trouble now."

Deondre frowned. "Was that before or after you cheated?"

Valeus grinned at the fact his opponent knew what he was doing and couldn't do anything about it. "Both actually. I activate this continuous magic card." All around him the darkness seemed to magnify. "The power is in my hand now boy. As long as Dark Soul Summon remains on the field the number of Dark Soul Tokens on the field will increase by one every turn. Soon all of your creatures will be marked and then you will be unable to attack at all!" He sneered and slapped down a monster. "I summon Headless Knight (1450/1700) in defense mode." A suit of armor appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Deondre drew and looked at his two useless monsters. ("Alright, I'll go after his life points with a different monster card then.") He slapped down a monster. "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1900/1000) in attack mode." A crimson armored mage wielding a sword and shield appeared on his field. "Attack his Headless Knight!" The mage launched across the field and slashed the monster apart.

"That's not all though! I now activate Breaker's effect! Once per game I may sacrifice 300 of his attack points to destroy one magic or trap card on your field. And my target..." He pointed at the dark mist around him. "...is your Seal of Dark Souls!" The spellcaster lifted his sword, which was now pulsing with energy. (1600/1000)

Valeus rolled his eyes in exasperation. "What are you expecting that to do? I told you that no effect you could create would be enough alone to destroy my Seal of Dark Souls!"

Deondre smiled knowingly. "That's true." He tapped a button on his duel disk and his face-down card flipped face-up. "So I activate the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon, which will combo with Breaker's destruction effect to crush your Seal!" Breaker threw his sword into the air around them, a powerful cyclone of wind developing around it as the two magical forces combined.

Valeus stepped back in fear, his eyes wide. "No..."

Deondre smirked. "Ah, I've hit the jackpot? Yes one destruction effect isn't enough to shatter your Seal of Dark Souls, but what about two?" The sword slashed out into the night, the dark mist around them both exploding into nothingness. "And that's the end of you. Without your Seal of Dark Souls, you are nothing Valeus."

Valeus had lost his smirk completely. ("You insolent little...")

Deondre smiled and waved his hand dismissively to his opponent. "You're out of your league in this duel. So take your last turn."

Valeus knew that he was in trouble now. Next turn he would get attacked and wiped out, unless his next card was a good one. "I'm not out of this game yet!" He drew, using every ounce of his dark energy to manipulate his deck to his personal tastes.

Deondre could feel the sheer intensity of that energy and he felt drops of sweat dripping down his borrowed face. ("Please...don't let him topdeck.")

Valeus looked at his new card and his smirk was back in full force. "I'm beaten, am I?" He flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal Conquest of the Lands of the Dead! This long-winded card lets me pick up one field magic card from my graveyard!" His graveyard spat up a card that he held up for his opponent to see. It was the Seal of Dark Souls. "I'm not beaten yet." He popped open his field magic card slot and replayed the card. All around the two of them the darkness returned.

Deondre bit his lower lip. ("No...")

Valeus flipped up his other face-down card. "Now I activate the magic card Dark Soul Fulfillment! This magic card immediately creates one Dark Soul Token for every monster on your field. Now every one of your creatures are marked!" He slid the last card he was holding into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down on the field. So Dimension Duelist..." He spat the name out like a curse. "...let's see you defeat my Seal of Dark Souls again."

Deondre looked down at his deck, and then up at his opponent. "Trust me...I will win this duel and reclaim my body!"

Valeus motioned to the darkness around him and replied sarcastically. "Oh I believe you. It's the darkness that requires convincing. So I suggest you make your case good, because believe me..." He exploded into insane laughter. "...the shadows don't believe in mercy!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Conquering the Dark Seal

Author's Notes: Not much to say in these notes. Deondre's back and he was so close to winning, but now he's in trouble. Can he pull through?

To Luna's Meow: Deondre got into Kaiba's body the same way Valeus got into his body. As for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards? I personally dislike fics where they say that there is suddenly more than three (I don't count the fourth one cause it is technically damaged beyond playability in a tournament) Blue-Eyes.


	17. Conquering the Dark Seal

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 17: Conquering the Dark Seal

_Valeus motioned to the darkness around him and replied sarcastically. "Oh I believe you. It's the darkness that requires convincing. So I suggest you make your case good, because believe me..." He exploded into insane laughter. "...the shadows don't believe in mercy!"_

"You shouldn't talk like that. You'll make people think that I am insane." Deondre knew he was only trying to boost his own confidence now, but that was exactly what he needed at the moment. He would need two magic/trap destroyers to get rid of the Seal of Dark Souls. ("Do I even have two more ways left in my deck to get rid of it?")

Valeus saw the look of despair that crossed Seto Kaiba's face. "What's the matter Deondre? You seemed so eager to take me down before. I thought that you believe in good triumphing over evil and all that nonsense. Don't you think you can draw the necessary cards to beat me?"

Deondre drew his next card and slapped it onto his disk. "I summon D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) in defense mode." A futuristic ball-shaped plane appeared on his field. "End turn."

Valeus drew and snickered. "Too bad for you boy. I've got the perfect monster for this situation." He slapped it down onto his disk. "I summon Proprietor of the Dark Soul (600/1200) in defense mode." A demon cloaked in priestly black robes appeared on his field in defense mode. "That's not all though. I also flip up my face-down magic card, Heart of Clear Water." A crystal bubble formed around the Proprietor's body. "As long as he is equipped with this he cannot be destroyed in battle. End turn."

Deondre drew and the Proprietor screeched in a high-pitched squealing voice. He watched as a dark mist leaked out of the bodies of all of his monsters, the energy flowing right into the Proprietor's body. "What's it doing!?"

Valeus snickered as the Proprietor turned to him and handed him a glowing orb of light. "The Proprietor of Dark Soul's special ability drains you of 500 soul points for every monster you have with a Dark Soul Token attached to it." He pressed the orb into his chest and shivered as relief spread through his body.

Deondre- 2000/5500

Valeus- 4600/3500

Deondre frowned and looked at the card he had drawn angrily. ("I have no choice in the matter. I have to do this.") He slid the card into his duel disk. "I activate the ritual magic card Dimension Rift!" A crystal gate of Light appeared behind him. "Since I must sacrifice eight level stars worth of monsters to summon my ultimate monster card, I'll sacrifice my D.D. Dragon and my D.D. Scout Plane!" The two monsters exploded into particles of light that flew right into the gate. The crystal gate shuddered and slid open to reveal a regal man in futuristic. "Come forth Lord of the Different Dimension in defense mode! End turn." (4000/4000)

Valeus drew and chuckled. "So you think that by lowering the number of monsters on your field that you are going slow me down at all? That's the dumbest idea I have seen in a while. End turn."

Deondre drew and watched as the Proprietor screeched and absorbed more of his soul points. ("I need to draw a card that can kill that thing!") "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Deondre- 2000/3500

Valeus- 6600/5500

Valeus drew casually and slid the card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Deondre looked down at his deck hopelessly. ("It's over. The moment I draw he'll drain me of more soul points. This is my last card before his Proprietor of Dark Soul wipes out my life points.") It was unfair. He was always told that if you played fair that you would be the winner in the end. ("But this will be the end of me. I know I don't have a card in my deck capable of winning this duel for me.")

He slowly fell to his borrowed knees, eyes looking at nothing in particular. ("What sickens me the most is that he cheated to get where he is right now, and though I played fair, he's going to come out on top.") His head snapped back and he screamed out, "TELL ME WHY!?"

Valeus laughed as he watched his opponent slowly start to break down. "You're finished. This duel is over and so is your life. So draw your card and end your turn so that you can pass on into the world of the dead."

Deondre lowered his head to the ground and clenched his fists angrily. He didn't understand why this was happening. ("Good's supposed to triumph over evil. It's a fact of life!") He didn't even feel like drawing his next card. He knew it wasn't going to be enough to win.

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"_You're depressing when you get like this." A familiar voice from next to him said._

_Deondre slowly looked back to see himself looking at CJ. "How...when..." From his other side he heard someone approaching. He looked over to see Daniel. "How......did you guys get here?"_

_Daniel smiled and gave his friend a half-hearted salute. "Trust me, we're not real. In fact, we're figments of your imagination."_

_Deondre stared at the illusion, eyes wide. "What kind of...Why?"_

_CJ chuckled and crossed his arms across his chest. "Believe me; we didn't think we would be needed here. I guess we thought wrong though. You're supposed to be the one of us who can always face the odds and walk away the winner. I guess you need a little boost though."_

_Daniel sat down next to him and grinned. "Come on D, you can't actually give up and die in this duel."_

_Deondre wiped the beginnings of tears from his eyes. "Why can't I?"_

"_Because it's your destiny to win this fight. It's your destiny to do something that the twelve demon lords could never do. And to do that then you're going to need to believe that despite how bad this situation looks, that you are not alone in this fight."_

_Deondre barely recognized that fact that this figment of his imagination had just told him a bit of history he didn't know. "But...I don't have a card that can pull this off. Not..."_

_CJ sat down next to him on the other side. "You can't actually expect that to matter, can you? You just said it yourself. Good triumphs over evil, light wins out over darkness, it's a fact of life."_

_Daniel patted his friend on the back. "So don't give up yet. You've still got a chance left in that next card that you draw."_

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Valeus stared as his opponent slowly came to his feet. "What's this? You decided to go down fighting hmm?"

Deondre kept his borrowed eyes to the ground. "This isn't right. None of this is. And it's my job to set it right." He knew that now. His eyes slowly lifted to glare at Valeus. "I will send you into oblivion. It is my destiny to make sure that you cannot terrorize the world again."

Valeus snickered at how cliché his opponent sounded now. "I've heard it all before. A million heroes came to my doorstep, only to be struck down like dogs. In all honesty, you're nothing special to me."

Deondre smiled. He no longer felt doubt in this matter. "I will win and you will lose." He drew and watched as the Proprietor stole more soul points from him.

Deondre- 2000/1500

Valeus- 8600/7500

Valeus looked at his opponent's soul point total and sneered. "Alright, so let's see your victory play."

Deondre glanced at the new card and slid it into his duel disk. "Not yet. End turn."

Valeus drew and rolled his eyes. "All that drama and you still have nothing? Well that's too bad, because I end my turn. Now draw your card so my Proprietor can kill you."

Deondre drew and tapped a button on his duel disk. "I hope you don't think it's over yet. Reveal my last hope to win this duel, Reversal of Fortune!" A golden die appeared in front of him. "This trap card allows me to roll a single die. Whatever number comes up on it will determine what effect I get. Since none of the effects are related, let's just hope for a good number, shall we?" He grabbed the die and threw it across the field. It bounced and landed on a four. "Here's the comeback! When I get a four I may destroy one monster on the field and negate its effect!" The flipped up card behind to glow a bright red color. "Good-bye Proprietor of the Dark Soul!" The beam it fired blew the demon into nothingness.

Valeus's eyes widened in horror as he watched his killing combo get destroyed.

Deondre saw the look and slid the card he had just drawn into his duel disk. "End turn."

Valeus drew and smirked. "Keep in mind that if you attack with any of your monsters, then you will lose the rest of your life points. I set two cards face-down and one monster in defense. End turn."

Deondre drew and knew that if he wanted to make any more progress in this duel he was going to have to make a major topdeck. "Please..." He drew and slapped down his fifth monster. "I summon Apprentice Magician (400/800) in defense mode!" A short blond spellcaster appeared on his field in a crouching position. "This monster will be the key to annihilating your seal for a second time!"

Valeus snorted and darkness around him seemed to pulsate. "You're such a horrible liar."

Deondre smirked and pointed at his Breaker the Magical Warrior. "Are you so sure? Do you know how Breaker's special ability worked?"

Valeus rolled his eyes. He was the master of magician monsters, of course he knew. "Though you said he drained his attack by 300 to use his effect, it actually works because he enters the field with a spell counter that he may sacrifice to destroy a magic or trap card on my field. That's where his extra 300 attack points come from."

Deondre pointed at Breaker, whose sword was starting to glow rapidly. "When Apprentice Magician is summoned to my field I may place one spell counter on a target on the field. That means I am going to give Breaker the power to destroy another magic or trap card on your field." Breaker lifted his sword up into the air, the weapon pulsing with light. (1900/1000)

Valeus crossed his arms across his chest. "It won't be enough to get rid of the Seal of Dark Souls. How many times do I have to tell you that before it finally sinks in?"

"Only once, my dear Valeus," Deondre said mockingly. "Breaker, destroy the Seal of Dark Souls!" The Magical Warrior nodded and threw his sword into the air, the weapon turning into a shooting star of energy that launched out of sight. There was a loud clang and then the weapon fell back down to its owner's hand, life-less.

Valeus rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his opponent. "So if you knew that why did you have Breaker waste his counter?"

Deondre tapped a button on his duel disk. "Who ever said that I wasted the counter?" His remaining face-down card flipped up. "Go Monster Relief! This will send a monster from my field back to my hand and then it will let me summon a four star or below monster from my hand back to the field." He grinned widely and in a sing-song voice he said, "You know what that means." He picked the Apprentice Magician off of his disk and then slapped it back down.

Breaker's sword thrummed with life once more. "Now Breaker has his counter again. So say good-bye to your Seal! Breaker, destroy it!" The Magical Warrior threw his sword once more, the shooting star of energy slamming into the barrier that the Seal formed and shattering it.

Valeus looked horror-stricken as the pieces of his precious Seal of Dark Souls fell to the ground around him. "No..."

Deondre pointed at the face-down monster. "Without your Seal of Dark Souls I can attack without worry! Breaker, get rid of his face-down monster!" The crimson-armored spellcaster nodded and charged across the field, cutting the card in half.

Valeus saw his opponent's other three attackers begin to power up their respective attacks, and he pressed a button on his duel disk quickly. "I'm not finished yet! Reveal Dark Wall of Air, which will negate your direct monster attacks and leave me safe this turn!" The three monsters slowly charged down their attacks.

Deondre, his belief returned that good will always win in the end, smiled. "End turn."

Valeus placed all of the remaining scraps of dark energy he had into this next draw. He could feel the ribbons of black energy that was flowing off of him, but he didn't care. ("I will not be sent back to that hell again!") He drew and looked at the card. "Well, it looks like I was right. I'm not finished yet."

He slid the card into his duel disk. "Activate the magic card Revival of the Darkness! This special magic card will immediately reactivate my Seal of Dark Soul from any location!" The air around him, which had just started to clear of its dark air, thickened with the black and grey of the Seal of Dark Souls once again. "That's not all though."

He tapped a button on his disk and his face-down card flipped up. "I activate another one of my favorite recovery magic cards, Dark Soul Fulfillment! This will create a Dark Soul Token for every monster on your field, meaning that now you are completely unable to attack me!" His insane laughter echoed across the invisible walls of the dome that the Seal of Dark Souls had created.

Deondre couldn't believe this. He wouldn't believe that he was beaten. ("I've broken his Seal twice. I'll simply draw the cards I need and break it again!") He drew and he slid the card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and I end my turn."

Valeus, his stolen body still surrounded in streamers of darkness, drew off the top of his deck and snickered. "And now you are back to facing down death. I activate the equipment magic card Blinding Rage. This will force the equipped monster to attack every turn. And since I am equipping this card to your Lord of the Different Dimension, it must attack me during your next battle phase. That means...."

Deondre looked down at his deck and clenched his fist. "...that now I really do only have one turn left."

Valeus smiled darkly. "End...turn." He said the words like he was pounding the nails into his opponent's coffin with that statement.

Deondre fists clenched so tight he could feel blood beginning to form within the palm of his hands. He knew that despite whatever his intentions were, he didn't have any cards left in his deck that could help him. ("I know it is my destiny to win. But how can I win without cheating? How can I win without being like him?") He didn't expect an answer to the question.

He got one though, in the form of a howl that sent shivers racing up his spine. He stared down at the source of the sound. It had been his deck. ("What?")

_("I am here to serve you, master. Simply draw me and I will be your servant forever.")_

Deondre felt his hand being drawn to his deck slowly, his eyes wide in fear and anticipation. ("That voice...It sounds so familiar.")

Valeus didn't like what he was seeing one bit. Something in the boy's deck was releasing impossible amounts of magical energy. "I see you must cheat to win your duels as well?"

That was all Deondre needed to hear to have a reason to draw his next card. He looked at it and then lifted his eyes to meet Valeus's. "Valeus...you've been alive too long. This time, you won't be coming back if I have anything to say about it. And I didn't cheat. This card came to me of its own will."

Valeus glared, feeling anger boil across his features at being spoken to in such a way. "What are you talking about!? That card didn't come to you of its own will."

Deondre held the gold-faced card to his opponent. "I personally don't care what you think, you parasite. Now it's time to set everything right. And for me to do that I'll need to destroy your Seal of Dark Souls."

Though he was angry, Valeus had to smirk at that. "I doubt very much that you'll be able to pull that off with just one card. You know how powerful the Seal is."

Deondre slid the card into his duel disk. "I know." There was an explosion in front of him as the earth began to crack and a huge sword shaped like a fang shot out of the ground to land in the hands of his Lord of the Different Dimension. "That's why I have called upon the power that can destroy even your Seal in just one hit!"

Valeus felt little drops of sweat begin to drip down his face. "What are you talking about? There is no such card!"

Deondre calmly pointed at the huge blade that was in the hands of his Lord. "What do you call that then? I call it the Legendary Weapon Card Shattering Fang. And with its special ability you are finished!" The Lord of the Different Dimension lifted the weapon high above his head, the heavy blade now surrounded by a sheath of emerald light that illuminated the gloom of the Seal. (5000/4000)

"Its special ability allows me to me to send any magic or trap card on the field straight to the graveyard once per turn! So say good-bye to your Seal of Dark Souls once more, except this time you won't live long enough to see it again!"

Valeus growled and clenched his fists, his eyes burning with rage. "ARE YOU STUPID!? IT CANNOT BE DESTROYED BY A SINGLE EFFECT!"

Deondre smiled in a superior way. "Ah, but did I say I was destroying it? I said I was sending it to the graveyard. And whether you want to believe it or not, there is a difference between the two. Now go Shattering Fang!" The Lord of the Different Dimension slammed the weapon into the ground and it sent a shockwave of light and energy traveling across the earth.

The wave shot past Valeus and then traveled up the dome shape of the Seal of Dark Souls. It hit the top of the dome and then exploded, sending tremors through the invisible walls. There was loud cracking noise and dozens of glowing spider-string thick cracks appeared around them. Then the dome finally came down, raining both duelists with digital pieces of energy.

Deondre pointed at Valeus. "Now I reveal my face-down trap card Team Strike! This allows all of my monsters to transfer their attack power to one monster on my field. So I give all of the power to my Lord of the Different Dimension." (13200/4000) "You wanted my monster to attack you Valeus? Well you get your wish! Lord of the Different Dimension, attack his life points directly!"

The Lord leapt forward and slashed its sword across Valeus's chest. The ex-demon mage felt intense pain and then oblivion consumed him completely.

As the holograms faded away, Deondre smiled and felt his soul start to get pulled out of Kaiba's body and transferred to his own. ("Evil never wins...damn straight.") He fell into darkness with a smile on his face.

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Envirius watched as a black crystal appeared on his desk. "Hello Valeus, I see that you failed. Not that I blame you for failing, since you were facing off against one of the Legendary Weapon Cards. Of course you did fail me, so..." He placed his hand upon the crystal and it shattered. "...good-bye."

He spun around in his chair and looked out at the night sky with a smile on his face. ("And they just keep finding their way here. Soon all twelve will be here and then they will all be mine.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A dinner date with a madman


	18. Dinner date with a madman

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 18: Dinner Date with a madman

Yugi sighed and slid underneath another branch that threatened to take off his head. It was pitch black and he was tired of getting hit by branches, tripped up by roots and stubbing his toes one rocks.

_("Maybe you should stop for the night then?")_

Yugi had to admit that Yami made a rest sound very convincing, but he needed to find the others before he would stop to rest. ("What if they are in danger and they need us to help them.")

Yami sighed from within his hikari's mind. _("I personally think that you are overreacting to this. They will be alright Yugi, so would you please stop and take a break. It isn't that I don't worry about our friends too, but keep in mind that not all of them are defenseless. They will survive this place.")_

As much as Yugi wanted to argue, he knew that soon he was going to collapse from exhaustion. ("At least let me find a place to rest for the evening.")

Less than a few seconds later, he went from being trapped in a narrow pass to standing at the edge of a clearing. In the center of said clearing was a huge mansion.

_("Now isn't that convenient.")_ Yami didn't exactly like the feeling that he and Yugi were being toyed with at the moment. _("Don't go into that place Yugi. We'll find somewhere else to stay the evening.")_

"Greetings Yugi Moto!" A booming voice radiated from within the mansion. "I'm sure you must be tired from your walk through the forest. Please, come in and make yourself at home."

Yugi rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. "Come on, how dumb do you think I am?"

The voice laughed calmly, the sound echoing off the nearby trees to create that booming voice once more. "Ah, then you do not wish to see your darling Anzu?"

That stopped both Yugi and Yami in their tracks. Slowly, the boy turned to look back at the mansion. His eyes hardened as Yami slid to the forefront of their mind. "Where is she?" He asked calmly.

The doors to the mansion opened slowly. "If you want her back, then come right in and get her."

Yami knew he was going to be walking right into a trap, but honestly he didn't care. ("I will save my friends.") He walked across the clearing and through the open door.

The moment he crossed the threshold the door slammed shut behind him.

"Welcome Yugi Moto! If you would please continue straight ahead." The sound was coming from an intercom on the wall.

Yami marched down the elegant hallways and rich textures of the hallway with only one thought on his mind. ("If you have hurt her, then you will not enjoy the consequences of your actions at all.")

As he finally reached the end of the long hallway, he found himself at one end of a huge empty room. At the far end of the room there was a grey-haired older man wearing a black tuxedo and with a black and silver duel disk on his arm. He smiled at Yami politely and bowed. "What a pleasure it is to have the King of Games join me in my humble abode."

Yami took a space at the other end of the room and his duel disk clicked into place. He already knew that he was going to be dueling this opponent. "Enough small talk. Where's Anzu?"

The man chuckled curtly. "Straight to the point hmm? I can appreciate that. I am Tiberius Loiterous the third, connoisseur extraordinaire. If you can defeat me in this duel, then I will tell you the location of your beloved."

Yami looked down at his deck and then he nodded. "I'm ready for you. Let's begin."

Tiberius smirked. "This duel will be very interesting, believe me. By the time this duel is over you will have either learned the meaning of true teamwork or you will be missing your soul."

"What do you mean by true teamwork? This will be a single duel." Yami noticed the faraway look in his opponent's eyes and he didn't like it one bit. ("He's not right in the head.")

"He means that we will be working together, for we both have something riding on our victory in this tournament." Someone off to Yami's side said coolly. The Pharaoh looked over to see a face he hadn't seen in a long while. "Siegfried Reinhardt?"

The long brown-haired duelist nodded, his expression unreadable. "I arrive here a few hours ago. This man will not duel me until I have a partner, so I suppose you are it, eh Yugi?"

Yami nodded and took a few steps off to the side. "I suppose so. Shall we take him out?"

Siegfried clicked his duel disk into place. "I'd love to."

Tiberius drew his five cards. "As per the two on one rules, I am allowed two draws per turn and two summons per turn. Is that alright with you both?"

Both duelists nodded and drew their five.

Tiberius drew his two cards for the turn. "Then let me start off with an appetizer for you both. I set two monsters face-down on my field and two cards face-down." He slid the two cards into his duel disk and then placed the monsters down one after another. "End turn."

Yami drew and fanned out his hand to look at his strategy. ("I could summon an attacker and go after his life points, but he might spring a trap on me if I do. And if it is a trap that hurts Siegfried...") "I set one monster face-down in defense mode and end my turn."

Siegfried drew and without hesitation threw down a monster. "I summon Battle Footballer (1000/2100) in defense mode." A robot that looked like a football player appeared on his field in a crouching position. "Then I set one card face-down. End turn."

Tiberius drew his two and placed out two monsters. "I summon Bistro Butcher (1800/1000) in attack mode and Mystic Tomato (1400/1100) in defense mode." A purple-skinned monster with a meat cleaver in one hand and a hook in the other appeared on his field and licked its lips. Right next to it an orange-red tomato with a face appeared.

Tiberius grabbed another card out of his hand. "Now it's time for the first course!" He slid the card into his duel disk. "I play the Hungry Burger Ritual!" His two face-down cards exploded and in their place was a huge monster that looked like a hamburger with teeth. "Our first delicacy is the Hungry Burger (2000/1600) in attack mode!"

He slid another card into his disk. "That's not all though, for now I activate the magic card Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck!" He slid two off the top of his deck and smirked. "Tell me boys, are you ready for your final meal?"

Siegfried glared at the man, his normally cold ice-blue eyes burning with rage. Yami shared a similar expression on his face.

Tiberius frowned. "You're both no fun at all." He pointed at Yami's monster. "Bistro Butcher, serve his monster up on a silver platter!" The purple-skinned demon ran across the field and slashed down with the meat cleaver, only to be deflected backwards as its weapon slammed down on a steel shield.

Yami held up his monster card so that Tiberius could see. "You slammed right into my Big Shield Gardna!" (100/2600)

Yami- 8000

Siegfried- 8000

Tiberius- 7600

Tiberius frowned and looked at his hand. "Well played Yugi. End turn."

Yami drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "Two cards face-down." He slid his Big Shield into the graveyard. "Now I summon Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500) in attack mode!" A huge demon appeared on his field. "Attack his Hungry Burger now!" The monster opened its mouth and began to charge up a fireball of energy.

Tiberius tapped a button on his duel disk. "Did you think I was unprepared for such a monster attack?" His first face-down card flipped face-up. "Activate Demon Grill!" A barbecue pit appeared on his field. "Now I may sacrifice your attacking monster and gain life points equal to its attack points." The pit shot out a burst of flames that instantly consumed the demon.

Yami- 8000

Siegfried- 8000

Tiberius- 9800

Yami frowned and looked over at Siegfried. "End turn. Be careful."

Siegfried drew. "I will not tolerate anyone who dares to kidnap Crystal. And I will beat you!" He slid his Battle Footballer into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Beast of Talwar!" (2400/2150) A double-falchion wielding monster appeared on his field. "Now attack his Hungry Burger!" The monster charged, weapon up to strike the evil fast food down.

Tiberius tapped a button on his duel disk and his next card flipped up. "You're serving me all the easy wins I would ever need. Reveal Demon Pressure Cooker!" A huge pressure cooker appeared on the field where the Beast of Talwar used to be. "This will destroy your monster and drain its attack points from both of your life points!" The machine shuddered and then exploded, spraying both duelists with virtual glass.

Yami- 5600

Siegfried- 5600

Tiberius- 9800

Siegfried looked at his hand and frowned. ("I must calm down. I'm letting my posture slip.") "End turn."

Tiberius drew his two cards and smirked. "Are you ready for course number two?" He slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate the Ritual Magic card King's Banquet!" All three of his monsters exploded into dust. "By sacrificing my creatures, I may special summon the greatest chef the world has ever seen!" There was an explosion of light and a man wearing a chef's hate and wielding an impossibly big meat cleaver appeared on the field. "I call forth the power of the Iron Chef (3200/2800) in attack mode! Attack Yugi's life points!" The monster launched across the field, weapon raised to strike the Pharaoh down.

Yami tapped a button on his duel disk. "Reveal face-down card, Mirror Force."

Tiberius tapped a button on his duel disk. "Sorry King, but I you've been out-classed by my Royal Decree, which negates all traps in play except itself!"

Siegfried flipped up his face-down card. "Activate Trap Jammer. This will negate your trap card and allow Yugi's Mirror Force to activate!"

Tiberius flipped up his second card. "Alright then, I play my trump card! Activate Solemn Judgment! At the cost of half of my life points I can negate anything!"

Siegfried looked over at Yami apologetically.

The Pharaoh looked over at his remaining face-down card and then to Siegfried. "I'm stepping out of this duel.

"What!?" Both Tiberius and Siegfried stared at him in amazement.

Yami smiled and flipped up his face-down card. "I activate Enchanted Javelin, but instead of using its effect to raise my life points by your monster's attack, I will transfer the life point gain to my partner and then I submit."

Yami- Surrender

Siegfried- 8800

Tiberius- 4900

Siegfried quickly slipped back into his normal expression-less state. "Why did you surrender Yugi?"

Yami clicked his duel disk back into standby mode. "Because I figured out why Tiberius wanted to take on two duelists instead of one. His deck is meant to benefit from the double draw and double-summons he gets. If we continued to play him as we were we would lose. So from this point onwards it will be Siegfried vs. Tiberius." He nodded to the German duelist. "Get him."

Tiberius frowned at the fact that his strategy had been found out. "It doesn't matter. I have a monster on the field with 3200 attack points and as long as Royal Decree remains in play traps cannot be used, so I have all of the advantages I need to win this duel."

Siegfried looked down at his deck and then brought his icy glare to Tiberius. "I won't lose this duel. For Crystal's sake and for my own, you are going to lose and then you are going to take us to our friends."

Tiberius snickered. "Saying and doing are very different things, boy. Just try and take me down."

Siegfried looked at his hand and calmly nodded. "I'll show you that the Blitzkrieg strategy is different then it was before."

Yami stepped back off the playing field. "Good luck Siegfried."

The German duelist nodded back to his ex-partner and then returned his attention to the game. "Let's duel!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The return of the Blitzkrieg

Author's Notes: Sorry if this chapter seems kinda weird. I know that dropping Yami out didn't make much sense, but I thought it best mid-chapter to avoid having a repetition of the Giovan Garlin vs. Yami/Rikuo duel. I save duels like that for big story points. Anyway, bear with me on this one. The duel between Siegfried and Tiberius will be good.

Also, if you want to read more dueling action, check out History of A Duelist by TheChazMan. I promise you won't be disappointed once you read his first duel.


	19. Return of the Blitzkrieg

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 19: Return of the Blitzkrieg

_The German duelist nodded back to his ex-partner and then returned his attention to the game. "Let's duel!"_

Tiberius looked down at his hand and snickered. "With this card in my hand I am more than ready for your Blitzkrieg strategy, boy." He slid the card he was talking about into his duel disk. "End turn."

Siegfried drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down on my field and I summon Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) in defense mode. End turn." A purple fiend with ram's horns on its head appeared on his field in a crouching position.

Tiberius drew and slapped down a monster. "I think my Iron Chef is in need of some help in the kitchen! I summon another Bistro Butcher in attack mode." Next to the first chef monster another of the purple-skinned chef demons appeared.

"Bistro Butcher, attack his Archfiend Soldier!" The monster howled and charged across the field, weapon raised to cut the Archfiend Soldier apart.

Siegfried looked at his face-down cards and then tapped a pair of button on his duel disk. "Reveal Mystical Space Typhoon! This will destroy your Royal Decree and open up the field." A sharp wind launched past the Bistro Butcher and blew the face-up trap card apart.

Tiberius frowned at the loss of his trap negation, but he still wasn't worried. "You're still about to lose 3200 life points when my Iron Chef attacks you directly!"

Siegfried pointed at his other face-up card. "Reveal my trap card, Sakuretsu Armor." A suit of steel armor appeared on his Archfiend Solider. The Bistro Butcher slammed right into the armor and was blown apart. "This trap destroys one attacking monster."

Tiberius pointed at the Archfiend Soldier. "That was a foolish move! You should have saved that trap card for my Iron Chef. Attack!" The monster charged across the field and slashed the purple demon in half.

Siegfried drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I didn't destroy your monster because I needed it for my next play. Go Change of Heart!" A half-demon, half-angel monster appeared on his field and flew into the Iron Chef. The creature turned and raised its cleaver at its master.

In his panic, Tiberius tapped the button on his duel disk. "I won't be beaten by own monster! Activate another Demon Pressure Cooker!" The chef monster was encased within another pressure cooker, which exploded and sprayed Siegfried with glass.

Siegfried- 5600

Tiberius- 4600

Siegfried calmly placed a monster onto his disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Tiberius drew and paled. When he didn't make any move Siegfried got the message.

"I see you got a bad draw. Well that happens sometimes." Siegfried drew and flipped up his face-down monster. "I flip-summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) into attack mode!" A flaming pile of wood in a humanoid shape appeared on his field.

Then he grabbed another monster from his hand and threw it down. "This is your end Tiberius! I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode!" A long-nosed dragon appeared on the field and screeched at Tiberius.

The connoisseur didn't seem horribly worried. "That's not enough to take me out this turn."

Yami had already seen Siegfried's hand. "Perhaps I underestimated you Siegfried, you are more powerful than I thought."

Siegfried slid another card into his duel disk. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive Archfiend Soldier!" The purple horned demon appeared on the field and howled. "Now all of my monsters, attack his life points directly!" The three creatures roared and launched across the field, all of them tackling Tiberius at once and sending him flying into the back wall of the room.

Siegfried- 5600

Tiberius- 0

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Envirius felt it....

He felt it and he didn't like it one bit. ("Siegfried Reinhardt...I cannot let you add to my enemy's power.") He felt his mind slowly slide out of his body. ("I will deal with you personally.")

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Yami stepped forward and patted Siegfried on the shoulder. "Now let's go wake him up and find our friends."

"That won't be necessary Pharaoh." Envirius slowly appeared out of the shadows in the corner of the room. He brushed back his long raven-black hair and smiled, his fair features seeming to be an otherworldly kind of beautiful. "But first I have business to discuss with Master Reindhardt."

Yami stepped forward, while Siegfried watched the two impassively. "What kind of business might that be?"

Envirius waved his hand and a force of incredible power shoved the Pharaoh back away from Siegfried. "It's business that has nothing to do with you, business involving the Darkness Games!" A dark orb exploded around them, cutting both out of view.

Yami raised his palm and released a burst of energy into the sphere, only to have it dissipate the moment it hit the purple and black mist. ("A darkness game...") Yami had no choice in this matter. He had to stand at ready and hope that Siegfried was ready for a game over his soul.

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Siegfried glanced to both sides of him at the darkness impassively. "Interesting trick you have. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Envirius's duel disk clicked into place. "Are you ready to duel?"

Siegfried clicked his duel disk into place. "I'm always ready to duel."

Envirius drew his five and popped open his field magic card slot. "I can see that. So let's add a little mechanic to the game that I am sure you will like." He slid one of his five into the slot. "Activate Seal of Dark Souls!"

Siegfried looked around, but he didn't see anything different about the sphere. "I think your duel disk isn't on."

Envirius drew his card for his turn. "Oh it's on alright. My magic card doesn't change anything about a darkness game." He took a card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down." The card appeared before him on the field. "And I summon my Shadow Duelist (0/0) in defense mode." An exact copy of Envirius appeared on the field.

Siegfried stared at the shadow copy. "What is that thing?"

Envirius motioned to his Shadow Duelist. "Consider it a copy of myself. As such, I must first activate its special ability for it to be any use to me." The Shadow Duelist turned and walked over to stand next to its master. "Now I must pay half of my life and soul points, and give them to my monster."

Envirius- 4000/4000

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 8000/8000

Envirius continued his explanation, while the Shadow Duelist clicked its duel disk into place and drew five cards from its deck. "Now you must defeat one of us to win this duel. And that should be rather difficult, since the two of us will have perfect symmetry in our strategies."

The Shadow Duelist nodded.

Siegfried looked down at his starting hand and then back up at his opponents. "I'm not afraid of your tactic. In fact, you have done me a favor by giving me two small targets instead of one big one. That's not all though," He pointed to Envirius's field. "You currently have no monsters in play, and neither does your double."

Envirius looked at his face-down card and then up at his opponent. "Attack if you think it will work. End turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew and set one monster.

Siegfried drew and he analyzed this new situation. ("I have a general understanding of what they have planned. It doesn't matter who I attack, since they can share monsters.") He slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I have no intention of falling for any of your traps. Go Nobleman of Crossout!" A shining knight appeared on his field and leapt across it, slashing the face-down monster apart. "Now you are wide open to my direct attack."

He slapped down a monster. "I summon Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) in attack mode!" The purple-skinned demon appeared on his field. "Attack the original's life points!" The monster shot across the field, only to be stopped by a wall of dark wind.

Envirius held up his face-down card. "Dark Wall of Air denies you the chance to attack my life points this turn."

Siegfried reminded himself that he knew that was going to happen. He took a pair of cards from his hand and slid them into his duel disk. "I set these face-down. End turn."

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Yami sighed as he had finished searching the house. When he returned he found the darkness game orb still there. ("I just wish I knew what was happening in there.")

"Hey Pharaoh," A gruff voice from next to him said casually.

Yami leapt a foot into the air and came down on the defensive. As soon as he saw who it was he relaxed. "Rikuo...how and when did you get here?"

"About the same time as we did," Joey said as he finished his inspection of the darkness sphere. "Wow...is there a shadow game going on in there?"

Rikuo nodded and crossed his arms across his chest. "Yes there is. And that worries me. Who's in there?"

Yami glared at the sphere, trying with all of his willpower to force it open. As always though, even his great mystical power couldn't overcome the energies of the darkness. "Siegfried Reinhardt is in there. He's dueling the mastermind behind all of this."

Rikuo frowned and pondered whether he could shatter the sphere with his sword. ("Better not chance it.") "Joey, you said CJ was with you. Where is he now?"

"Raiding the kitchen. We haven't had a good meal in a couple of days." He was oblivious to Rikuo's face-fall.

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Envirius drew his card and slid three into his duel disk. "End turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew a card and then set a monster.

Siegfried drew and threw down another monster. "I summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode!" The flaming wooden monster appeared on his field. "End turn."

Envirius drew and then smiled to his opponent. "What's the matter Siegfried?"

"The matter is that you have three face-down cards on your field. I have no reason to risk losing just to satisfy my curiosity about what they are." He looked down at his hand and then up at his two opponents. ("At least not until I draw a card that can deal with your traps.")

Envirius laughed sharply, the Shadow Duelist mimicking the action. "Well now, how interesting of a viewpoint. I'm more used to expecting my opponent to attack regardless of what is on the field." He took a card from his hand and slapped it down onto his disk. "I set a monster and end my turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew a card and ended its turn.

Siegfried drew and played another monster. "I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode." The long-nosed dragon appeared on his field. "End turn."

Envirius drew and casually slid a card into his disk. "I'm getting tired of watching you build an attack force. I play the magic card Level Limit Area B. This will force all level four or higher monster to defense mode as long as it remains in play."

Siegfried frowned as he watched his monster all go into crouching positions. ("And two of my creatures have zero defense points.")

Envirius tossed down a monster. "Now I summon the Sonic Duck (1700/1000) in attack mode. And thanks to the effect of my Seal of Dark Souls it gains 500 extra attack points." (2200/1000) A little duck with a bucket on its head appeared on his field. "Sonic Duck attack his Spear Dragon!" The duck blurred and the dragon exploded. "End turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew and placed its entire hand face-down on its field.

Siegfried drew knowing he was in a lot of trouble. ("I must figure out a way to get around his defenses. I will not lose to a duck.") "I sacrifice Blazing Inpachi to set a monster. End turn."

Envirius drew and pointed at the Archfiend Soldier. "Death by duck, anyone?" The little duck blurred and the demon exploded.

The Shadow Duelist drew and ended its turn.

Siegfried drew and looked at the all of the cards in his hand. ("Plenty of attackers that will simply be put up for slaughter if I put them out. I have yet to draw a single trap card that can deal with that damn duck.") "End turn."

Envirius drew and pointed at the face-down monster. "Sonic Duck attack!" The little bird blurred and Siegfried's face-down Beast of Talwar (2400/2150) was destroyed.

As he slid his favorite monster into the graveyard, Siegfried sighed. ("I'm sorry Grandfather.")

The Shadow Duelist drew and passed again.

Siegfried drew and slid the new card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!" Green swords of light slammed down upon Envirius's field. "As long as this magic card is in effect I am safe from your attacks for three whole turns." He placed a monster face-down on his disk. "End turn."

Envirius drew and smiled calmly. "End turn for now."

The Shadow Duelist did the same.

Siegfried drew and inwardly blanched at the card. "End turn."

Envirius drew. "All you've done is slow me and my double down for a short while."

The Shadow Duelist drew and once again passed.

Siegfried drew and placed a monster face-down. "End turn."

Envirius drew and sighed. "This is a tiresome little game you play boy. End turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew again and passed.

Envirius chuckled as he looked across the field. "What the matter boy? Can't you get past my defenses? Perhaps maybe I misjudged your skill at dealing with strategies?"

Siegfried didn't hear any of it though. He was staring down at his deck and calling upon every ounce of luck he could muster. ("For Crystal's sake, give me the card I need!") He drew....

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Bonds of the Weapons


	20. Bonds of the Weapons

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. How...many...times...do...we...need...to...go...over...this!?!?!?!?

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 20: Bonds of the Weapons

The moment CJ returned to the dining room Rikuo had his sword drawn.

The bigger, dark-skinned man placed all of the gathered food supplies aside and blinked at the wolf demon. "What's your problem Rikuo?"

Rikuo's Howling Sword exploded into phantom flames. "Come now demon, there's no need to be shy. Come on out of the ape's body, so I can kill you."

CJ paled a little and took a few steps away from him. "Err...Yugi...Joey? Help?"

Yami stepped in front of the slowly advancing Rikuo. "What are you talking about Rikuo? That is CJ."

Rikuo spat upon the ground. "I know that smell all too well. Damned peace-loving horse demon if I have ever smelled one. And unless he mated with one, he..." He lifted the sword to point at CJ, "...is one."

CJ took another step back from the sword and then his mind slowly brought in what Rikuo had said. "A...a...a...demon!? ME!?"

Rikuo found it hard to doubt the surprise in his voice. ("There's only one way to be sure though.") He snapped his arm out and elbowed Yami in the gut to make sure that the Pharaoh wouldn't get in the way.

With impossible speed he landed a punch right into CJ's chest, sending him shooting backwards like a rocket to leave a huge hole in the six inch thick wood of the wall.

Joey just stood there, eyes wide. "...........Ow.........like a lot........."

Yami slowly came to his feet, glaring murder at the wolf demon. "Are you insane!? He's a human!"

CJ slowly came out of the hole in the wall clutching his head. Other than that though, he looked undamaged. "Damn Rikuo...what was that for?"

Rikuo gave the staring Yami a smug look and walked over to watch the darkness game. "I rest my case. Horse Demon."

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_Siegfried didn't hear any of it though. He was staring down at his deck and calling upon every ounce of luck he could muster. ("For Crystal's sake, give me the card I need!") He drew..._

Siegfried stared at the card for a few seconds and then slid it into his duel disk. "I don't know what your face-down cards are, and I don't care. Activate the Blitzkrieg trump card, Annihilation! At the cost of 2000 life points I will send every card on the field and in all of our hands to the graveyard!"

Envirius- 4000/4000

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 6000/8000

A deafening explosion echoed across the field and when the smoke cleared nothing was left on the field or in any of the players' hands.

Envirius narrowed his eyes and drew, since there couldn't have been anything that Siegfried could do. "End turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew and set a monster.

Just as the Shadow Duelist ended its turn, Siegfried finished looking through his deck and placing it back into his holder. "One of my face-down monsters was the Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) which when sent to the graveyard allows me to pick up one monster with a defense total of 1500 or less and place it into my hand."

He drew for the turn and then slapped down the monster he searched for. "Now that the field is clear, I had better attack while I can. I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode!" A demonic dog appeared on his field.

"Next up is the magic card I drew! Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards from my deck!" He slid the two drawn cards free and slid them into his duel disk. "Mad Dog, attack Envirius's life points!" The demonic dog howled and launched across the field, only to get intercepted by the Shadow Duelist's defense mode monster, which it instantly destroyed.

Siegfried bowed his head in silent thanks to whomever or whatever was giving him this good draw streak. ("I just need this for a little longer. Soon he will be gone.")

Envirius snickered and pointed at Siegfried. "Take a look at your soul point total before you get too excited boy. Since yours is the only monster on the field, it had the Dark Soul Token attached to it. That means that when you attacked you lost 1900 soul points. Quite a hefty price for simply getting rid of a defensive monster."

Envirius- 4000/4000

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 6000/6100

Siegfried didn't understand what Envirius was talking about, but he knew that something must be attached to his monster. ("I can only assume that when one of these totals hits zero then I lose the duel.") "End turn."

Envirius drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this and end my turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew and placed down another monster.

Siegfried drew and threw down another monster. "I summon another Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) in attack mode!" Another of the purple-skinned ram-horned demons appeared on his field. "Attack Envirius's life points directly!" The demon launched across the field, only to get intercepted by the Shadow Duelist's face-down monster card, which like the Mad Dog before it, it ripped apart.

Siegfried pointed at Envirius. "You're defenseless now! Attack his life points directly!" The Mad Dog howled and shot across the field. Meanwhile, the Dark Soul that was latched onto it drained Siegfried of soul points.

Envirius- 4000/4000

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 6000/4200

Envirius tapped a button on his duel disk. "Too bad you don't know when and when not to attack. Reveal Magic Cylinder!" A pair of cups appeared on his field. One shot over to in front of Siegfried, while the other one sucked up his Mad Dog. The demon dog popped out of the other cup and slashed its claw down on Siegfried's shoulder, driving him to a knee. "This trap card deals your monster's attack in damage to you instead of me."

Envirius- 4000/4000

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 4100/2300

Siegfried slowly came to his feet, eyes showing that despite his outward appearance, the effects of the darkness game were starting to wear down on him. ("I need to figure out how to deal with whatever is consuming my second life point total.") "I end my turn."

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Ever since Rikuo had explained to CJ how he was now a demon, the dark-skinned man had gone into a form of shock.

Joey waved his hand in front of CJ's unblinking eyes. "Yo CJ, you okay? Hello?"

Yami stared at CJ too. He slowly looked over at Rikuo, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the darkness sphere. "Alright, I believe you. But if he is a demon, then how exactly did he get that way?"

Rikuo shrugged nonchalantly. "How should I know? I'm not an expert on all of this mysticism stuff. I just know a demon when I smell it."

Yami decided to let the point rest. "How long have you been in control of your body? Maybe you should let Daniel take control while you rest?"

Rikuo clenched his fists at the mention of his hikari's name. ("My hikari? Did I just call him my light?") He glared at Yami. "Stop rubbing off on me!" Then he returned to glaring at the sphere.

Joey glanced up at Yami, who shrugged at the demon's response.

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Envirius drew and slid his newest card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

The Shadow Duelist also drew and slid its card into it disk.

Siegfried drew and his eyes widened. ("My secret weapon...") He looked up to Envirius and let a little smirk come onto his face. "Your two face-down cards are nothing to me."

Envirius raised one of his eyebrows a little. "Why's that?"

Siegfried slid his Mad Dog of Darkness into the graveyard. "I have the monster that will take you down. I sacrifice my Mad Dog of Darkness to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch (2400/1000) in attack mode!" A cold wind blew across the field and in an explosion of ice the form of Siegfried's newest monster appeared. It looked like a man wearing a suit of armor made completely of ice.

"When I tribute summon Mobius to the field, he immediately destroys two face-down magic/trap cards on the field. That means you and your shadow's traps are gone. Mobius, Cold Wave!" The Monarch charged a ball of glowing ice within its palms and threw the blast across the field. It split in half on the way there and slammed down on the two cards, instantly shattering them.

Envirius was sweating bullets now. ("No...I will not be beaten by some upstart boy! I will not!")

Siegfried pointed at Envirius. "Good-bye. Mobius, attack with Cold Wave Explosion!" The Monarch charged up another ball of ice that it threw across the field. The blast slammed into Envirius and sent him sliding backwards.

Siegfried could feel it. He was in the zone. And soon Crystal would be free. "It's over!"

Envirius composed himself quickly and smiled. "Oh it is over alright. For you."

Siegfried narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Envirius pointed down at the duel disk. "Take a look at your life points."

Siegfried looked down and he felt the calmness that came from being 'in the zone' starting to fade away.

Envirius- 1600/1600

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 4100/0

Envirius crossed his arms across his chest. "That's too bad boy. You forgot that when you tribute summon a monster, the Dark Soul Token attaches to the new creature."

Siegfried could feel the pain, yet somehow he managed to say, "But you never even explained the rules of the Seal." There was that stinging feeling and then he collapsed to the ground.

Envirius watched as an ice-blue crystal floated from Siegfried's body and hovered in the palm of his hand. He knew that the boy couldn't hear him, but he just had to say it. "That's because you never asked about the rules of the card."

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Rikuo felt pain for a moment. It was a pain he couldn't forget. ("No...") He slowly came to his feet and drew his sword, the weapon now burning with its flames.

Yami watched the demon, which went from passive to angry in the span of two seconds, wearily. "Rikuo? What's wrong?"

Rikuo responded by slamming his weapon against the barrier with blinding speed. His efforts did nothing though, except spray sparks everywhere. "LET ME IN!!" He tried to drive the weapon into the mass, only to have the mass push back in the form of a wave of energy that shot him across the room and right into the wall. He imprinted into the wood, but quickly recovered and attacked the sphere again.

Yami understood now. And with that understanding in his mind, he felt an anger that was all-consuming. ("Siegfried.......no.....") He slowly brought his eyes to the sphere and lifted his palm to it. "You will not deny me! Let....me....IN!!" He gave every bit of power he had into one single push of energy. He would get through this time, even if it killed him.

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Envirius could feel the two fools who were daring to challenge his Seal of Dark Souls. "How pitiful of them. Do they really think they can conquer a power as ancient as my family's seal?" He chuckled and looked over to the Shadow Duelist, who nodded in agreement with him.

His gaze swept over to the crystal and he smiled, tapping it with his finger. "They're trying to save you, Siegfried. Why they would risk their life for you, I do not know. You're not worth saving. Neither was the wench who we kidnapped to bring you here. Though of course, since you cannot save her, perhaps I will keep her as my personal pet."

He smiled lecherously at the thought of that, the expression being shared by his Shadow Duelist. "She was definitely a good piece of eye candy. A little too free-spirited though. That can be fixed easily. Just a few good beatings should shut her up."

The crystal in his palm shimmered brightly, as if the soul of Siegfried was enraged at the thought of Crystal being used as anything of the sort.

Envirius sneered down at the little crystal in his palm. "Just try and stop me, if you can."

"I will..." Siegfried's body slowly came to its feet, ice-blue eyes glowing in the gloom.

Envirius stared at the soulless form. "This shouldn't be possible...How? You have no soul. You shouldn't be alive."

Siegfried looked down at his arms and then at his duel disk. "Take a look at my life point total."

Envirius looked down and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing this right. "This damned thing must be malfunctioning. This doesn't make any sense at all."

Envirius- 1600/1600

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 4100/0/13000/14000/8000/9000/10000

Siegfried's eyes continued to glow in the gloom. His eyes began to shift, the points of darkness in the ice-blue orbs stretching to slits. "I will not let you hurt Crystal." His voice was deathly calm. His form could no longer be seen in the darkness of the Seal. All that could be seen was the pair of slotted eyes that glared at the dark-suited businessman.

Envirius drew his next card. "Perhaps, but you forfeited your turn when you collapsed, so for now it is my turn." He looked at the card and snickered. "You're going to lose anyway. I summon a monster capable of wiping you out in but one play. Say hello to the Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth!" (0/3000) A dark lump of shadow energy appeared on his field that took the form of a shield. "End turn."

The Shadow Duelist drew and showed the card to its master.

Envirius smirked and took the card from his puppet to show it to his opponent. "Now here's the deathblow that I was hoping for. I activate the equipment magic card that will give my monster the power of infinite soul point drain." He slid the card into his duel disk.

"First off let me explain the power of my monster. Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth's special ability normally allows it to send one equipment magic card on it to the graveyard to drain my opponent of 500 soul points. However, thanks to the nature of my magic card, I'm about to do this infinitely. Activate Dagger of Butterflies-Elma!"

A small pair of daggers appeared over the shield, and then they exploded. Envirius slid them into the graveyard, and then his graveyard spat them back out. "The effect of Dagger of Butterflies-Elma is that whenever it is sent to the graveyard, it returns to my hand. So therefore with these two simple cards I am going to end you right now!" He slid the card into his duel disk. "Go infinite soul drain combo!"

The glowing eyes didn't waver one bit as the combo sucked out all of Siegfried's soul energy.

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Rikuo stopped in his assault and fell to one knee. Something was tugging at his soul rapidly. ("It...burns...") He looked over and saw that his friends were already unconscious. ("Damn...it...all...") Giving out one angry growl, he collapsed face-first to the lush carpet.

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Envirius chuckled happily as he watched five more crystals float out of Siegfried's now prone form. One violet, one green, one yellow, one blood red, and one bright red. "Heh, I've just walked away with five brand new souls in my possession. I love it when a plan comes together." He noticed that his Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth was still locked in its soul point drain combo. "Stop now my beast. We have won this duel." The daggers above the shield's form appeared and stayed in place this time.

The business-man looked over at his Shadow Duelist and chuckled. "I guess you end your turn, eh?" He broke down into laughter. "And to think we didn't even give him a chance to draw another card and topdeck his way to a win." He reached down to remove the duel disk, but what he saw stopped him cold. "Oh please tell me you're kidding..."

Envirius- 1600/1600

Shadow Duelist- 4000/4000

Siegfried- 4100/0/10/10/10/10/10

He didn't understand how this was possible. ("Unless...") He groaned and slapped his forehead with the heel of his palm. "I didn't wait for the soul drain combo to finish. I stopped it too early." His gaze went over to the darkness covered form of Siegfried. ("Please...please...please...stay down...just stay down and die...")

Yet, despite his prayers, his opponent slowly came to his feet. Siegfried's eyes were somehow still burning with rage, despite the fact that he should be dead at the moment. "You made one mistake. You...." He drew, "...Shouldn't..." He slid the card into his duel disk, "...take me lightly. I play the Legendary Weapon Card Thunder Claws."

An explosion of electricity came from Mobius as the Frost Monarch suddenly was wearing a pair of gloves with metal claws attached to the fingertips. "Thunder Claws raises my monster's attack total by 3000, and it also gives my monster a special ability I know you won't like at all. Now I may sacrifice monsters to my current creature to raise its attack points permanently! First I sacrifice Archfiend Soldier." The purple demon howled as it was consumed in a torrent of lightning. (7300/1000)

Envirius smirked. "That may be enough attack power to wipe me out, but I couldn't help but notice that my monster is in defense mode at the moment. Meaning I'll live on to draw the cards I need."

Siegfried's shadowed form tapped a button on his duel disk and one of his two remaining face-down cards flipped face-up. "Reveal Big Bang Shot! This will raise my monster's attack by 400 points and give it the power to deal damage through defense." (7700/1000) "Mobius, Ice Claw Strike!" The Monarch slammed its claws together and then unleashed a blue blast of electricity that consumed the Supreme Dark Soul and the rest of Envirius's life points.

Or so Siegfried had hoped. Envirius had other plans though. "I won't be the one losing my soul today. I transfer my monster to my Shadow Duelist's field." The shadowy version of Envirius shuddered and exploded.

Envirius- 1600/1600

Shadow Duelist- 0/0

Siegfried- 4100/0/10/10/10/10/10

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As the orb of the darkness game cleared, Rikuo got a glimpse of his quarry. "Return Daniel now!" He went into a wild leap, weapon leading the way.

Envirius smirked and snapped his fingers. "No dice on that one general. Good-bye." His form blew apart into black smoke, leaving Rikuo's weapon to cut through nothing but air.

As the wolf demon hit the ground, he was already cursing his new enemy in every language he knew. And he knew a lot of languages...

Siegfried rubbed his eyes over and over again. They were itching way too much for something as simple as getting used to having light near them again.

Rikuo stopped cursing when a new scent hit his nose. He slowly turned and growled deep in his throat at the demon smell in the air. His eyes were locked on Siegfried.

The German duelist blinked in confusion at the wolf demon, but when he looked to Yami or Joey for explanation, he saw they were staring at him too.

CJ was still staring at air.

Finally Siegfried couldn't take it anymore. "What's everyone staring at?"

Rikuo walked up to him, grabbed something from behind him, and held it up to his eyes. It was fuzzy, rounded, and very much alive.

Siegfried stared at his tail for a few seconds before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed in a dead faint on the floor.

Rikuo snorted, "Why did it have to be a cat demon? I hate cat demons."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Soul of the Dragon Reborn

Author's Responses: To Guardian Force- Yes I do know the characters that Deondre and CJ are based after.


	21. The soul of the dragon reborn

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 21: The soul of the dragon reborn

Envirius stood in the center of his office, pondering. ("Now Rikuo has three Legendary Weapons under his control. I also have three. Therefore, I must figure out a way to tip the scales in my favor. How though....") He completely understood what position he would be in once Deondre found his friends. Then they would have four weapons and he would be at a disadvantage.

("Unless....") Envirius had an idea. He smirked and tapped a button on his watch.

"Yes sir?" The voice of his secretary came out of the device.

"Contact Replica, I have a job for him..."

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Siegfried rolled backwards just in time to avoid getting his head taken off by a swipe of Rikuo's claws. He came up from his roll running.

Joey took a bit out of an apple they had liberated from Tiberius's kitchen. "So how is this demon training again? It looks more like Rikuo is trying to kill Siegfried."

Yugi didn't particularly think this method of training was very effective either. "I think Rikuo just wanted someone to vent his frustrations on.

After spending the night in Tiberius's mansion, the group had continued on their way towards what they hoped was the direction of the man who they had seen last night. Right now it was noon and Rikuo had decided to give Siegfried some training on how to fight like a demon.

Unfortunately, the German Duelist was taking his sudden change in species not as well as Rikuo had been hoping. "Stop running around and fight back!" He swiped with his claws again, barely missing Siegfried's head once more.

Siegfried leapt into a tree, disappearing in the sea of green leaves. "Are you insane!?"

Rikuo looked up at the tree and pondered that... "Yes. Yes I am."

Siegfried's head poked out of the leaves. "Alright, well why don't you go and bother CJ!? I'm sure he could use your 'training'!"

The wolf demon snorted and twisted his head to the side. "I wouldn't train a weakling horse demon if my life depended on it. Consider yourself lucky that at least you are a demon that has the potential to fight." He was so focused on his 'student' that he didn't even hear the punch headed for his head until it was too late.

Siegfried slid out of the tree and dropped silently to the ground in front of the prone form of Rikuo. "Ouch...."

CJ cracked his knuckles and walked over to join Yugi and Joey. "Call me weak and I'll call you an ambulance."

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"Joey, stop staring at his ears," Yugi said as he finished making his sandwich. "It's rude."

"But I'm telling you Yug, they're tryin to tell me somethin." Joey continued to stare at the pointy brown cat ears on top of Siegfried's head. Every once in a while they would twitch in response to a change in the air or whenever Siegfried heard a sound.

Through it all Siegfried tried to keep his attention off of Joey and on something else. "I doubt my ears are trying to 'tell' you anything, Joseph."

Ever since last night, The German Duelist had not been having fun getting used to his new...anatomy. After all, when you emerge from a duel with someone and find out that you are suddenly a cat demon....well it was something of a shock for him.

After he had awoken from his initial faint, Rikuo had explained to him that he was some kind of demon lord. ("Whatever that means.") All he was sure of were the fact that he suddenly had cat ears and a tail. That was proof enough for him that he didn't want this.

CJ, unlike Siegfried, had come out of his transformation with very little about him different. Other than a sudden small increase in muscle mass, he looked about the same as he always did, if not a little more intense. Secretly Siegfried was jealous of the other duelist.

Rikuo slowly came to his feet and rubbed the back of his head gingerly. "Stupid Ape-Horse. I'll kill him." Rikuo turned and calculated the distance that he would have to throw a boulder if he wanted it to hit CJ. As he calculated though, his ears twitched and swiveled as they heard something. Rikuo turned and watched as a black-cloaked man walked out from beneath the cover of the trees. "Oh boy, another Emissary for me to play with." He smiled and flexed his claws. "Come here little boy..." He lunged through the air, claws out to cut down the figure.

Except that the figure moved, stepping aside and dealing an impossibly powerful punch to Rikuo's side. The wolf demon was launched across the clearing and slammed through several trees before he finally skidded to a stop at the base of one large redwood, unconscious.

Siegfried and CJ were already standing up, though most feelings of fighting left them when they watched Rikuo get taken down in one hit.

Yami took over for Yugi and stepped past the two. "Who are you?"

The cloaked man chuckled and tossed his cloak aside, revealing multi-colored hair and leather clothing. His violet eyes shimmered in the noon sun. He looked exactly like Yami. "I'm who I want to be. I can be you, I can be me, I can be anyone. I am Replica and I challenge you to a duel."

Yami nodded. "Very well. I'll take this duel."

Joey stepped past him. "Let me Yug. This guy most likely is gonna copy your strategies if you play 'im."

Replica smirked and his form blurred. As it cleared up it was replaced by an exact copy of Joey. "I don't care who I duel." Before CJ or Siegfried could step forward he added, "However, I will not play any of the demons. So it's either Yugi or Joey."

Siegfried now had another reason to not like being a demon.

CJ just looked crest-fallen.

Replica sneered, the feature completely alien-looking on Joey's face. "One thing though. Whoever duels must place Rikuo's Grand Emperor Dragon into their deck. That is all I ask."

Joey walked past Yami and went over to Rikuo. "I'll show this guy just who's the best." He reached into the demon's belt pouch, removed his deck, and then took out the Grand Emperor Dragon and placed it into his deck. He returned to his friends and faced off against Replica. "Let's get this duel started!"

Yami patted his friend on the shoulder. "Good luck Joey. And do me a favor."

Joey looked over at his friend. "What's that?"

Yami smiled jokingly. "Don't turn into a demon, or anything of the sort."

Joey smiled right back. "Course not." He brought his attention to Replica. "Alright, let's get this going copy." His duel disk clicked into place.

Replica's duel disk clicked into place. ("Excellent. I'm taking on the weakest of their team. This should make my mission easier than I originally thought.") "I suppose the original can go first."

Joey drew his five and then his sixth. "You don't know what you are getting yourself into. I'm one of the top duelists in the world."

Replica snickered. "And just how many Joey Wheeler fans do you see in the world?"

Joey ignored the barb and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down and then I summon Little Winguard (1400/1800) in defense mode." A little warrior with a winged cap appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Replica drew and snickered. ("This fool has absolutely no idea what he is getting himself into.") He slid two cards into his duel disk and set a monster. "End turn."

Joey drew and threw down a new monster. "I summon Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode." A warrior wielding a battle-axe appeared on his field. "Now I switch my Little Winguard into attack mode." The little warrior drew its sword.

Replica tapped a button on his duel disk. "I activate the trap card Mirror Focusing Blast! This card will allow me to discard one monster from my hand to attack all monsters on your field."

Joey stared at the strange hand mirror that appeared in front of his field. "Say what?"

Replica slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "For example, by discarding Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) to the graveyard, I may attack every monster on your field with 1700 attack points worth of damage." The mirror shuddered and then spat out a wave of light energy that destroyed both of Joey's monsters.

Joey- 7700

Replica- 8000

Joey looked down at his hand and frowned. ("I'm gonna need to get my hands on a monster to sacrifice if I want to summon any of these things.") "End turn."

Replica drew and laughed darkly, the sound so eerie coming out of Joey's mouth. "I summon a monster that will wipe you out. First I sacrifice my face-down monster." The face-down card exploded, and then Replica took his newly drawn card and placed it down. "I summon Infernal Judge (2000/2000) in attack mode!" A demon in judge's robes appeared on his field. "Attack his life points now!"

Joey smirked and pressed a button on his duel disk. "I activate Graverobber! This allows me to steal one card from your graveyard and use it for myself!" A little imp appeared on the field holding a card. It flipped the card around to show Replica's Mirror Focusing Blast.

"Guess what that means Replica. That means if I discard a monster from my hand, I can blast your monster away. So I'll discard Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) and blast your Infernal Judge with 2400 attack points of damage." The hand mirror appeared on his field and spat out a burst of light that instantly annihilated the demon.

Joey- 7700

Replica- 7600

Replica frowned and looked down at his hand. ("I'm starting to see why I can't take him lightly.") He took a card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "End turn."

Joey drew and flipped up his other face-down card. "Reveal Giant Trunade! This will return all magic and trap cards on the field to their owner's hands!" A blast of wind exploded across the field and when it cleared Replica had no cards left. "Now I've got you Replica. You won't walk away from this one." He slid one of his three cards into his duel disk. "Monster Reborn will revive Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my graveyard and bring it to the field in attack mode!" There was an explosion of light and the huge black scaled form of Joey's dragon appeared.

Replica knew he was in trouble, but he wasn't ready to admit defeat. ("I still have almost all of my life points. It's not over yet.")

Joey slapped down a monster. "Now I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!" A black armored knight appeared on his field. "Now Red-Eyes and Gearfried, direct attack on his life points!" The two monsters launched across the field and slammed into Replica, sending him flying backwards.

Joey- 7700

Replica- 3400

Joey slid the last card he was holding into his disk. "Finally, I'll set this face-down and end my turn."

Replica drew and smirked. He snatched a card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "First I play Swords of Revealing Light! This will stop you from attacking for three turns." Green glowing swords of light slammed down on Joey's field, blocking off his monsters.

The Joey duplicate slid another card into his duel disk. "Now I activate Dark Designator, which lets me call on card's name and if you have that card in your deck, then you place it into your hand. I call Grand Emperor Dragon."

Joey popped his deck free of the deck slot and removed the dragon card, which was at the very bottom of his deck. He shuffled and then slid his deck back into place. "What purpose did that lame move serve?"

Replica threw down a monster. "I'll show you right after I summon Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in defense mode!" A blue-armored warrior appeared on his field in a crouching position. "And now for my final play for the turn. I play Exchange!" He walked over to Joey and handed him the remaining card in his hand. "Enjoy your Polymerization. For I get the Grand Emperor Dragon from you. It's a far rarer prize." He grabbed the single card from Joey and then walked back over to his side of the field.

Joey drew and slid his Gearfried into the graveyard. "I don't know what you are up to, but it won't work. I sacrifice Gearfried the Iron Knight to summon Maximum Six (1900/1200) in attack mode." A six-armed purple giant appeared on his field and it rolled a die across the uneven ground. "My monster will gain 200 attack points times the number rolled on the die, so come on lady luck!" The die landed on a six. "YES!" (3100/1200)

Replica really didn't seem too worried. "Its attack doesn't matter. As long as I have Swords of Revealing Light in play I am safe from all attacks."

Joey smirked. "Yeah, but as soon as your swords come down you're all mine. End turn."

Replica drew and slid the card into his disk. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." He drew his two cards and chuckled. ("Almost...") "I use the special ability of my Kaiser Seahorse to sacrifice it and summon Grand Emperor Dragon (2000/2500) to the field!" He slapped down the monster and a mix between a snake's hiss and the tinkling of crystals filled the air. A huge, golden-armored dragon floated to the ground and released its melodious cry again, before it fixed its sights on Joey.

Replica slid his next card into his disk. "Now I set one card face-down and summon Dragon Demon Soldier (1500/1200) in attack mode." A human wearing light body armor and wielding a spear appeared on the field. The thing that distinguished it as a dragon demon was its golden eyes. "Attack the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The monster charged against the dragon with its spear raised, only to get blasted out of existence before it ever got close to actually striking the dragon.

Joey- 7700

Replica- 2500

Replica's field was engulfed in light and when it cleared there was a much stronger version of the Soldier standing on the field. "When Dragon Demon Soldier is sent to the graveyard, I may special summon Dragon Demon Lord (2400/1000) from my deck, hand or graveyard to the field. End turn."

Joey drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down. End turn."

Replica drew and slid his card into his duel disk. "I activate Higher Vision. At the cost of 2000 life points I may take any card from my deck and put it into my hand." His deck spat out a card that he caught and slid into his disk immediately. "It's almost over for you Wheeler. I set this and end turn."

Joey- 7700

Replica- 500

Joey drew and placed down his card on top of his disk. "I set this monster and end my turn. Before we continue though, I'm starting ta get curious about sumthin. You call yerself Replica, and yet all you've been doin is playing this weird dragon strategy. How's that replicatin' me?"

Replica snickered and his form began to blur. "Who ever said that I was copying your strategy? I'm here to copy a different strategy. A strategy that, if it works, will bring out a Legendary Weapon Card for my master." As his form stopped blurring, he now had a golden mane of hair that went to his lower back, and his eyes had turned silver. "Soon the weapon of Grand General Jourgen will be mine. So get ready Wheeler!" He drew and smiled. "Because you've just lost..."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Da Big Gamble

Author's Notes:

Alright GryphinWyrm7, I'll do you this favor and list what we have so far. I will also list the other remaining demon types, though no dice on what their weapons and names are.

Rikuo/Daniel- Wolf- Howling Sword

CJ- Horse- Guardian Maul

Deondre-????- Shattering Fang

Jasmine- Fox- Shadow Knives

Siegfried- Cat/Tiger- Thunder Claws

Ryu- Dragon- ??????

Remaining?

Snake

Rat

Phoenix

Crane

Bull

?????? (My little secret)

A note to all of you: Though the others are now demons, that doesn't mean that they have versions of Rikuo in them. Rikuo's meant to be the unique case in all of this. Plus I think if I tried to introduce that many Yami's, then the story would get badly bogged down with too many plot-lines.

Of course, I am only where I am today because of you, the reader. If you think and/or feel otherwise, and you think that there should be Yamis for the others, then please tell me so in your review.


	22. Da Big Gamble

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 22: Da big gamble

_Replica snickered and his form began to blur. "Who ever said that I was copying your strategy? I'm here to copy a different strategy. A strategy that, if it works, will bring out a Legendary Weapon Card for my master." As his form stopped blurring, he now had a golden mane of hair that went to his lower back, and his eyes had turned silver. "Soon the weapon of Grand General Jourgen will be mine. So get ready Wheeler!" He drew and smiled. "Because you've just lost..."_

He slid his new card into his duel disk. "Now I activate Lord's Ascension, which will transform Dragon Demon Lord into a whole new creature!" The demon monster was engulfed in light and from within the light it began to shift forms.

When the light cleared a golden armored version of the Dragon Demon Lord was standing on the field. "Grand Dragon General (3000/2500) in attack mode!"

Joey shrugged at that. "My Maximum Six still has more attack points than your monster does though."

Replica sighed and shook his golden mane back and forth a little. "Fool. Don't you understand that I'm about to wipe you out. Reveal face-down card, Polymerization!" A vortex opened up on the field and it sucked both the Grand Emperor Dragon and the Grand Dragon General into its darkness. There was a blast of golden light and when it cleared a monster that could only be described as god-like was on the field.

It had golden hair that nearly went down to the ground. Its eyes glowed like the purest of silvers. It wore golden armor that made it look like one of the most regal knights ever to exist. It held a golden spear with a shimmering diamond affixed to one end. The monster lifted the spear and slid into a fighting stance. "I summon Dragon Knight Palidus in attack mode!" (3000/2800)

Joey shrugged. "It's still not tough enough to defeat my Maximum Six."

Replica pointed at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "Attack now!" The monster launched across the field and pierced the dragon through the chest.

Joey- 7100

Replica- 500

Replica fluttered a finger through his deck and drew the top card. "Whenever Palidus deals damage to a target, I draw a card." He looked at the new card and slid it into his disk. "End turn."

Joey drew and slid his face-down monster into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!" The metal monster appeared on his field and growled, the face-down cards on the field all floating lower to the ground. "And now that you can't use trap cards, I'll take you out. Maximum Six, attack Palidus!" The giant roared and charged across the field, fists raised to crush the Dragon Knight.

Replica flipped up his face-down card. "First I activate the quick-play magic card Payment's Knowledge! At the cost of half of my life points, I may take any one card from my deck and place it on top." He popped his deck free and casually selected the card. He shuffled his deck, placed the chosen card on top of it, and then inserted it back into his deck slot.

He tapped a button on his duel disk and flipped up his other face-down card. "Now I play Magical Textbooks. I discard my hand, of which I have none, and then draw the top card of my deck. If it is a magic card I may play it immediately." His smirk was wide. "So guess what Joey. You're about to get locked into a game I know you won't like." He drew the top card of his deck and popped open his field magic card slot.

Yami's eyes widened. "NO!"

Replica slammed the card into the slot. "It's too late to stop me Pharaoh! Activate Seal of Dark Souls!"

The ground around them shook and then Joey and Replica vanished as an orb of darkness sprang up around them.

Yami pounded against the barrier. "NO!! JOEY!!!"

Siegfried growled from deep within his throat, his tail flicking in agitation. "Damn it..."

And through it all Rikuo still remained unconscious...

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Joey looked around at the gloom that surrounded him and he frowned. "A darkness game?"

Replica snickered as his Dragon Knight Palidus gained the 500 attack point bonus from the Seal, making it strong enough to withstand the attack of Joey's Maximum Six. (3500/2800) The golden armored knight snapped its spear out and impaled Joey's monster, destroying it instantly.

Joey- 6700/7600

Replica- 250/8000

Replica drew his card from his monster's effect and his face twisted into a dark smile. "You're in trouble now Joey. How will you defeat me in this place? How will you avoid losing your soul?"

Joey looked at his face-down card and then at his Jinzo. ("As long as you're on the field, I'm in trouble.") "I don't got a choice. End turn."

Replica drew and slid his two cards into his disk. "First up is Dark Soul Negation. For this turn all Dark Soul Tokens are now drained. Then I play the equipment magic card Dragon Treasure, raising my monster's attack power by 300." (3800/3100) "Attack his Jinzo now Palidus!" The golden knight flew across the field and impaled the metal monster, blowing it to pieces instantly.

Joey- 5300/6200

Replica- 250/8000

Replica drew from Palidus's effect and slid the card into his duel disk. "Now I set one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Joey drew and slid the next card into his duel disk. "I got the lowdown on this place thanks to Rikuo and Siegfried. So as long as I don't have a monster, you can't risk attacking too many times or you'll run out of soul points. End turn."

Replica drew and flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal Dark Soul Barrier! As long as this continuous trap card remains in play my monsters cannot be the target of the Dark Soul Tokens, so therefore your little theory is wrong! Palidus, attack his life points directly!" The knight raised his spear and charged across the field, intent on cutting Joey down.

"Don't you ever look before you leap?" Joey tapped a button on his duel disk. "Activate one of my newest trap cards, Defense Army! This will special summon the highest defense monster in my graveyard to the field in defense mode to take one hit from my opponent's attack." There was a bright flash of light and Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared on the field in defense mode. It absorbed the hit from the Dragon Knight's attack and exploded.

Replica snickered and motioned to his Dragon Knight. "Palidus deals damage through defense, so you still lose 1800 life points." He also drew a card off of his deck.

Joey- 3500/4400

Replica- 250/8000

Replica looked at his newest card and slid it into his duel disk. "End turn."

Joey drew and looked his situation over. So far, he sat in one of the worst possible dueling situations a player could be in. ("Since his monster can attack creatures in defense mode, he can drain my life points even when I set monsters.") He looked down at his new card and blanched. ("Swordsman of Landstar?") (500/1200)

Replica saw the look that Joey was giving. "What's the matter Wheeler? Are you suddenly afraid of the dark?"

Joey slapped down his monster. "Nope, just plotting how I am going to take you down. I summon Swordsman of Landstar in attack mode." The little warrior appeared on the field.

Replica snorted and drew. "This is sad. It's like kicking a puppy. Just...too...easy." He slapped down his new monster. "I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode." A sapphire covered dragon appeared on his field. "Attack his Swordsman of Landstar!" The dragon howled and flew across the field, claws out to rip the little warrior apart.

Despite how grave the situation was for him, Joey smiled at his little victory. ("Gotcha.") "Reveal face-down quickplay magic card, Graceful Dice!" A little fairy appeared in the air over his field with a die in its arms. "Now I'm gonna roll this die, and whatever number it lands on will determine by just how much my Swordsman's attack is going to go up by. Go Graceful Dice!" The little fairy dropped its die, which hit the ground and bounced around insanely fast. It finally came to a stop on a six. (3000/1200)

The Luster Dragon realized too late that it was flying right into its death. It snapped out its wings and tried to stop its forward momentum, but it was already being cut apart by the Swordsman.

Joey- 3500/4400

Replica- 0/8000

Joey smirked and crossed his arms across his chest. "And that's the end of the duel for you, fake."

Replica snickered and motioned to his face-down card. "Not quite. I activated the trap card Last Breath. I may only trigger this trap card when I am about to lose because of a life point drain. My life points are set at 10."

Joey- 3500/4400

Replica- 10/6900

Joey bit his lower lip as he watched the Dragon Knight Palidus run his Swordsman through.

Joey- 2700/3600

Replica- 10/6900

Replica drew a card and slid it into his duel disk. "End turn."

Joey looked down at his deck. ("I need something to turn this around. I can't stall much longer.") He drew his card off the top and smirked. "Alright, let's draw." He slid his card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Treasure of Fate!" A white die appeared on the field and crashed about on the ground until it finally came to a stop on a two. "Not exactly the number I wanted, but I'm not gonna complain. First I draw two cards off the top of my deck." He drew his two cards and smiled. "Then I remove the top two cards of my deck from the game." He slid the two cards off and slid them into his pants pocket. ("Alright, these two cards will turn this duel around for me!") He slid them both into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down. End turn."

Replica drew and pointed at Joey. "It's over Wheeler! Dragon Knight Palidus, attack his life points directly and win me this duel!" The knight lunged across the field, weapon ready to cut Joey down.

Joey grinned. "Alright, time to see if I'm right. Reveal face-down trap card, Repeat Performance! At the cost of half of my life points, I may activate one card from my graveyard! So let's go Graverobber!"

Joey- 1350/3600

Replica- 10/6900

The little creature reappeared on his field, a card already in its hand. It spun the card around to reveal Replica's Mirror Focusing Blast.

Replica snickered. "Don't kid a kidder Wheeler. You couldn't have anything in your hand with enough attack power to defeat a 3800 attack monster."

Joey raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow...you're right. All I've got is a monster that has zero attack points. I guess I'd better discard it and hope for the best." He slid that card into his graveyard and the mirror that appeared on his field shuddered, before it unleashed a blast of energy that instantly consumed the Dragon Knight.

Replica's eyes widened. "No. That's not possible! You just said your monster had zero attack points!"

Joey nodded. "Yep. There's something about my monster you should know though. Its name is Copycat. (0/0) When I discarded it I activated its special ability. That allowed me to copy your monster's attack points when I used the mirror. Your creature was destroyed by its own attack force."

Replica looked down at his empty field and his stolen features turned pale. "....."

Joey looked down at his deck. "Alright, come on monster!" He drew and then looked at his deck again. "COME ON!!"

Replica still looked fairly pale, but nowhere as bad as he had before. "What's the matter Wheeler? Bad draw? That's a shame."

Joey slid the card into his duel disk. "I'm ending my turn by playing this."

Replica drew and grinned darkly. "Good-bye Wheeler! I summon another Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode!" Another of the sapphire encrusted dragons appeared on his field and roared. "Attack his life points!" The dragon lunged forward, only to get grabbed by tendrils of black smoke and pulled underground.

Joey held up his trap card. "I activated my Bottomless Trap Hole, which removed your monster from the game."

Replica was pale once more. "End turn."

Joey looked down at his deck, rapping on the top of it a couple of times with his knuckle. "Come on now; let's see you give me the win here." His hand reached down and he drew...

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_Rikuo slowly opened his eyes and he saw the forest. Something was wrong though..._

_Everything was shadowy. Far too shadowy..._

_("It shouldn't be dark yet. I was unconscious at noon.") He slowly climbed to his feet and looked over at the area where everyone had been picnicking. Though he saw the darkness game, he felt no rage at the sight of the horrible sphere. There was feeling of unnatural calm over him. Picking up into an unsteady stumble, he approached the sphere with his sword drawn._

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Yami was clenching his fists so tightly he could feel blood begin to develop within his palms. ("If anything happens to Joey...I'll...I'll...")

He was knocked forward as Rikuo pushed past him. In his hands he held the now alight Howling Sword. "Rikuo? What are you doing?"

The wolf demon didn't hear him...

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_He saw the phantom chains that wrapped around the sphere..._

_He knew that they needed to be removed..._

_Lifting his weapon, he howled along with his sword as it slashed against the sphere, the chains shuddering and then exploding in a flash of light that stole all thought from Rikuo's mind..._

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Joey looked at the card he had drawn in surprise. ("I don't own this. In fact...") He knew that now wasn't the time to argue though. "I activate the magic card Replay! At the cost of half of my life points I'm allowed to activate a magic card from my graveyard. Go Treasure of Fate!" The white die appeared on his field and bounced around until it landed on a six. Joey smirked and drew his six cards. "You're in trouble now, fake." He took six more cards and added them to the two he had in his pocket. "Okay, let's end this!"

Replica felt his connection to the Seal of Dark Souls starting to break, but he knew that he still had an ability left to him. ("The Dark Soul Fiend can be special summoned to the field at any time, so I'll simply throw it out to take the hit for me this turn.")

Joey grabbed the first card to his winning combo. "I'll begin with Monster Reborn! Revive Dragon Knight Palidus in attack mode!" There was a flash of light and the magnificent knight was back on the field. "Now I play the magic card Lightning Blade, raising its attack points by 800." A blue blade of lighting energy appeared in the knight's hands, the weapon quivering with energy. (3800/2800)

Replica couldn't believe this boy's foolishness. ("Has he forgotten so quickly what I the Dark Soul Tokens do? Oh well, it's his funeral.") Now he just had to wait for his opponent to attack.

Joey smirked. ("This duel's mine!") "Dragon Knight Palidus, atta....." Something felt wrong about this situation. ("What's the matter with me? Now's not the time to suddenly be having second thoughts. I need to win this duel.")

_("Joey. May I please make this decision for you?")_ A voice rang out in his head. It seemed to possess infinite calm, like that of a kind father.

("..........................................................................") Joey blinked a few more times, and then he looked all around his for another person. When he didn't see anyone he checked his person for microphones. ("Alrighty then....I've got a voice in my head. I think all of this supernatural stuff is starting to get the better of me. Maybe I need to lie down.")

Replica growled. "What's the hold-up!? Are you going to destroy me or not!?"

Joey knew the best way to confront this problem. He fainted...

_("Oh by the gods...")_ The voice didn't want to do this, but...

Replica watched as Joey collapsed face-first to the dirt. ("I...guess I win?") He was about to declare himself the victor, but Wheeler's hand snapped up and slapped its owner soundly across the face a few times.

Joey came up sputtering. "OW!" He clutched at his red cheeks. ("Okay...why did I just smack myself around.")

_("Joseph Wheeler,")_ The voice said, this time with a tinge of annoyance. _("Do you see the magic card at the end of your hand?")_

Joey looked down at his hand and nodded, despite the fact he felt stupid at the moment. ("Yeah...")

_("Insert the magic card into your duel disk. I promise you that if you do, I will go away.")_

("That's it?")

_("Well...almost. Play the other magic card in combination with it.")_

Joey looked at the two cards and rubbed his eyes with a hand. ("Listen, I don't think that these two cards are going to have any effect on this duel. I mean...they both require monster's on my opponent's field.")

_("Aim them at Palidus.")_

("Are you crazy!? He's my best shot at winning this duel!!!")

A few seconds followed, and then a sigh resonated in his head. _("Please Joey...I promise you will not lose this duel.")_

After a short debate with himself, Joey nodded to thin air. "Alright! I'll do it!"

Replica watched this entire little episode with a dead-pan expression on his face. "Are you done playing the village idiot yet?"

Joey stood up to his feet and slid the two cards he had been told to play into his duel disk. "Here goes. Go Metamorphosis and Soul Exchange!" On his field the two cards appeared. First the Metamorphosis card wrapped tendrils of light around the Dragon Knight on his field. A few seconds passed and then the tendrils withdrew, showing Palidus had been unchanged.

Joey stared at the unchanged monster. "What happened!? Wasn't he supposed to change into something?"

Another sigh resonated in his skull. _("Repeat after me. 'I activate Soul Exchange.")_

Normally Joey wouldn't tolerate being treated like a child, but something about this voice told him that it was trying to do something really important. "I activate Soul Exchange!" The second card released a flash of white light. When the light cleared, Joey felt the presence missing in his brain. ("Where'd it go?")

His question was answered a second later when Palidus turned to look at him. "Joey. Thank you for your help. I have only one favor to ask of you now."

Joey stared at what was supposed to be a hologram with caution in his eyes. "Such as...?"

Palidus smiled gently at the boy's fear. "Play your remaining cards into your disk. I'll do the rest."

Joey knew, somehow, that this was the same voice he had been talking to before. "Alright man, I'll trust ya." He took the remaining two cards and slid them into his duel disk. "I activate the magic cards Arms Race and Call to Arms."

Palidus turned to look at Replica with that same gentle smile on his face. "This allows Joey to draw cards from the top of his deck until he comes to an equipment magic card, which he then may place into his hand. Normally he would be unable to play the card until his next turn, but Call to Arms fixes that problem." He looked over at Joey. "If you would please Joseph."

Joey started to draw from his deck. When he reached the last card in his deck he frowned. "If this isn't an equipment magic card then I lose, you know that right?"

Palidus rolled his eyes. "It's a bit late to warn me of anything."

The blond-haired duelist looked at the brown-backed card and held his breath as he drew it. He brought the card up to eye level, and then stared in confusion at it. "What in the..."

Palidus smirked knowingly. "Play it."

Joey nodded and slid the card into his disk. "I play the Legendary Weapon Card Grand Dragon's Pike."

Palidus watched as a glowing crystal spear exploded out of the ground and landed in his hands. He grasped the weapon and smiled warmly at it. "It's been a long time since I have felt this in my grasp. Grand Dragon's Pike allows me, instead of attacking you each turn, to deal you my attack in effect damage. And since it is effect damage, I doubt your little Seal will affect Joey's soul points." He lifted the weapon up above his head.

Replica stumbled back. "No...how did you!? That weapon was Ryu's......" He grew pale.

Ryu smiled from behind the eyes of his most powerful creature. "For daring to use my face and deck in such a dishonorable manner...you will pay." He looked back to Joey. "Shall I?"

Joey smirked. "Oh yeah. Dragon Knight Palidus, attack his life points directly!"

Ryu slammed his pike into the ground and launched himself into the air. He came down with weapon driving point-first into Replica's body.

Replica stared down at the hologram sticking through him and he shivered. "No..."

Ryu leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "Thanks for keeping my deck warm for me. Now give it back and do me a favor. Die."

Replica felt a sharp stinging pain and then nothing more.

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Rikuo slowly came to his feet to see the darkness sphere clearing away. ("Now let's see who won.") He walked over to the edge of it, weapon drawn and ready to cut down Replica if he was the one to emerge.

When the black and purple substance cleared to reveal Joey, Rikuo sheathed his weapon. "You won? I must admit that is impressive."

Joey flashed the victory sign to his friends, who were all giving him a healthy round of applause. "Well I couldn't have done it alone. I did have a little help."

Yami didn't like the implications of that. "Joey...I was partially serious when I said before to please don't turn into a demon. Are you...?"

"No he's not. I just needed to his help to get my body back."

Rikuo froze at the sound of that voice. He turned around slowly and found himself face to face with Ryu. "J...J...J...J...J...J...J...J...J..."

Ryu rolled his eyes and cuffed Rikuo in the side of the head.

The wolf demon had his skull snapped to the side, and then he slowly brought it back to normal position to stare at Ryu. "..........................."

Ryu smirked at the reaction. "Good to see you too."

For the first time since his awakening on The Asylum, Rikuo Amero was so surprised that he fainted.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Last Piece arrives


	23. The last piece arrives

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 23: The Last Piece Arrives

Envirius took a sip of his coffee and smiled to his four guests. "Let's get down to business, shall we? I have called you all from your respective posts because at the moment a large portion of our goal in is sight. Our tournament guests currently possess five of the twelve Legendary Weapons, and we possess a scarce three. This means that I have no choice but to call in my best to help me deal with these interlopers."

Seren looked up from his tea, his white hair and crimson eyes labeling him as a demon. "What about Aishito? It's not like we're going to need his help in winning this. I mean he lost horribly to Rikuo the last time they dueled."

The older Japanese man next to him gritted his teeth. "That was before. This time, I will crush Rikuo beneath my heel."

Shinja brushed back her long red hair and readjusted her wire-frame glasses. "Poor Aishito. He most likely would have lost to the wolf's host too. Such a sad strategist."

From next to her, Kryen chuckled and rubbed his bald head with a handkerchief from his coat pocket. "Aye, that he is. Yer such a bad duelist Aishito."

The aged man growled and clenched his fists. "If you could do any better, then I'd like to see it."

Envirius rolled his eyes. "Don't take Rikuo or his friends lightly. Or should we all look back at the example that Giovan Garlin left behind?"

That brought an uncomfortable silence across the room. Ever since one of Envirius's Elite Ten had been brought down, most of the Shadow Corporation had been placed into something of a precarious standstill. They had stopped most of their current projects, knowing that first they were going to need to deal with Rikuo Amero and the threat he posed to their plans.

The silence was broken by the sound of Seren sipping his tea. Finally, he finished and lowered the cup, smirking. "The dear General didn't seem that powerful."

Envirius frowned. "You're partially right. I know that I could take him on if he was alone, but those other damned demons that he has with him now are the biggest problem."

"Siegfried Reinhardt, CJ Anderson, and Jourgen Politumas. The first two are new to being demons, but Jourgen poses one of the worst problems. He and Rikuo are both our superiors in general power. We also cannot discount the fact that the Pharaoh is here. As long as he is part of the equation, then we may be sorely outmatched." Seren had gone over this information while his plane had been enroute to the island. "Perhaps we should rethink our strategy. Sending duelist after duelist to them has gotten us nothing except for a sudden decrease in resources."

Kryen added in, "Tis a good idea. We'd be best off getting ready fer their arrival ere, instead of tryin ta stop em as they approached."

Envirius nodded. "I've already implemented that strategy. By the time they arrive we will be ready for them. I want you all to prepare your decks with the necessary cards. They should arrive here by tomorrow at the rate they are traveling."

The four nodded and left. They had a long night ahead of them, for tomorrow they would begin a battle that was definitely going to press them hard to succeed against the demons.

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Ryu tapped his hands together and stared at the fire in front of him. "So that's what they are after? They want our old weapons?"

Rikuo nodded as he finished telling his fellow ancient demon the factors behind why they were here. "That's right. They want all twelve of the Legendary Weapons, though I'm still not sure why. The weapons are powerful, but why go to all of this effort to get them?"

Ryu shrugged and tossed another log into the fire. He looked back over at the gathered group of sleepers who were a good distance from the fire. Joey, Yugi and CJ were all crashed out across the ground. Siegfried had decided that he felt more comfortable in a nearby tree, and since it was a strategically sound maneuver, no one had argued with him. "Who knows Rikuo? Who knows why humans find it necessary to gather up such an excessive amount of power?"

The wolf demon sighed and fingered the hilt of the Howling Sword. "If I ever meet the person who can answer that question for me, I'll let you know." He brought his golden-amber eyes to look at Ryu. "By the way, how exactly did you revive yourself? I thought that Sestros had destroyed you completely."

Ryu smirked, his face still away from the flame. "Never underestimate the power of a demon that had five millennia of time to leave behind preparations for himself. I've got hundreds of back-up plans for myself."

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The next morning the sleepers were woken up early by Rikuo, who gave them his customary kick in the ribs as a wake-up call. After a light breakfast, they packed up their supplies and continued on their way. They had a lot that needed to get done before they could try and enjoy the beauty of the wilderness.

During their march, they did encounter some random packs of Duel Monsters, though this time Rikuo and Ryu easily destroyed them. They finally broke for camp near when the sun began to settle in the distance. They were almost at the end of the valley, and by their hopes, there had to be something of incredible importance at the end of the valley.

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Rikuo lounged in his spot up in a tree, his tail flicking erratically while he chewed on his beef jerky. ("This is the life. A nice handful of my beloved beef jerky, a beautiful sunset to watch, and....no Daniel.") His light mood was gone instantly as he remembered why he was here in the first place. ("I'll get you back. I won't let them get away with such an unforgivable act. By the time I am done, they won't be able to do something like that ever again.")

A sound from down below him brought his attention down to the forest floor, where he saw a pair of shadowed forms approaching the group. ("Oh come on! I'd think by now our mystery enemy would have learned to stop attacking us.") He drew the Howling Sword casually and dropped out of his perch to land right in front of the two, the strip of beef jerky hanging out of his mouth. Dropping the flat side of the blade to his shoulder, he continued to chew while lazily getting ready to cut them down.

Kaiba glared at Rikuo angrily. "Put the sword down before I call Animal Control on you." He was sweaty, dirty, disheveled, etc. You name it; he most likely looked it at the moment. His glare was something that made even Rikuo step aside for him. The CEO trudged past the wolf demon and plopped down with the rest of the duelists. He ignored most of their questions, but instead grabbed a bowl of food that Joey had planned on eating and attempted to inhale the food whole in a manner that seemed dignified.

Rikuo stared at the CEO's back for a few seconds, and then he snickered. "Poor ningen baby." He turned to look at the other shadowed form. As his eyes took in the newcomer's form, he finished swallowing his jerky and growled.

Everyone, Kaiba excluded, looked over at the approaching and currently ranting form of Rikuo.

"....then I lost Daniel! Now I'm stuck working with a Horse Demon, a Cat Demon, and by far the worst insult to my kind ever!" He stomped past everyone and grabbed a nearby boulder, hurling the rock through a grove of trees and knocking them all down.

Deondre collapsed next to Kaiba and grabbed CJ's food, wolfing it down. Between mouthfuls of food, he noticed that everyone was staring at him. They had good reason though, considering that he had a pair of pointy black ears on top of his head. Add in the fact that his eyes were now a golden-amber similar to Rikuo's and that he had claws, and everyone had every reason needed to stare at him.

Meanwhile, Rikuo was still busy going into a rage, cutting down the surrounding trees like he was lawnmower and they were blades of grass. "First a Cat demon! Now a Dog Demon!?!?!? WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST ME!?" Up above him, the sky offered no answers.

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Deondre sighed and looked down at the gold-faced card. "Shattering Fang..." He knew the weapon was powerful, but to think that it was actually a real sword. "Wow...it's mine huh?"

Ryu nodded and looked over at where Rikuo continued to destroy the surrounding landscape to vent his frustrations. "That's right. I suggest you get used to the idea of being a demon too, because our enemies are not going to play by the conventional rules of the game."

Deondre glanced up from his card and over at Ryu. "Duel Monsters?"

Ryu shook his head, wincing at the sound of rock shattering and scream of fury in the distance. "Life."

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As the sun rose once more into the air, Rikuo finally felt a little better. That didn't stop him from glaring at Deondre every once in a while though. Occasionally while the group walked, he would also randomly tell Deondre, "I hate you." Eventually Ryu had to cuff him in the side of the head again and tell him to stop being a bigot.

"Keh! I'm not a bigot. I hate all three of them equally." Rikuo lifted his head haughtily, only to get cuffed by Ryu again.

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Finally they arrived at the first unnatural looking building anyone had seen in the last few days. It was a huge stone temple, which looked to be almost of Mayan creation.

The sound of footsteps from within the inner hallways of the building brought everyone on guard. Slowly Envirius strolled out of the entryway and smiled to the collected duelists. He tugged on his black tie and brushed his raven hair back from his fair features. "Are you ready for the tournament finals?"

"What are you talking about? When did the tournament even start?" Siegfried threw in coldly.

Envirius rolled his eyes. "The moment you all arrived the tournament started. Now all that remains is one last duel for each of you. Inside there is a door with your name on it. Go inside when you are ready for your duel." He chuckled and faded into smoke right before Rikuo could tackle him.

The wolf demon came up spitting out dirt. He snarled and charged into the temple, disappearing from sight almost instantly.

Yami took over for Yugi and sighed. "I suppose we should go in." He marched into the temple, ready for anything.

Ryu nodded. "It's that or stay out here and miss all the fun." He followed the Pharaoh into the building.

Siegfried narrowed his eyes and walked in next. ("Crystal...I'll save you...")

Kaiba started to walk in, and then looked back at Deondre and Joey. "You two mutts coming?" He turned and was next to disappear inside the temple.

Joey charged in seconds later. "Who you callin a mutt Kaiba!?"

Deondre frowned as the insult hit a little closer to home than he wished it had. He looked down at his deck and addressed the Shattering Fang. "You better be worth having to put up with all of this stuff."

CJ patted him on the shoulder. "Come on D, let's go and get this over with."

Deondre smiled at him and the two walked in. As soon as they were out of sight, the stone doors of the temple slammed shut.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A duel between warriors

Author's Notes: Submitting this to Kazuki Takahashi? I don't think Demon Duelist Legacy is that good of a series. Of course, perhaps I might be wrong. Once again, please submit your reviews and tell me what you think. I'm going to go and start writing the final duels. By the way, keep in mind that though each of these duels will be one after another in the story, they are all going to be starting at the same time. Later.


	24. A duel between warriors

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 24: A duel between warriors

CJ and Deondre came to a number of doorways that were lined up one after another next to each other. Each one of the doorways had a different duelist's name on it. CJ looked at his doorway and then nodded to Deondre. "You'll be careful?"

Deondre smirked and threw his friend a thumbs-up. "When aren't I?" He turned the door handle and walked in.

CJ looked at his door and took a deep breath. ("I'm gonna need a psychiatrist after all of this. So far I've nearly been killed, found out I'm a demon and I'm about to enter into a duel against....something.") He knew that all of this could wait until later though. For now it was just him and his opponent. "Here we go." He turned the doorknob and walked in.

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After following numerous winding passageways, CJ finally came upon a large square chamber.

At the far end of it was a giant of a man in a black business suit. He was completely bald. The only hair on his visible body was a bright red beard. The man sneered and in a voice thick with a strange accent, he said, "An ere's the horse imself. Greetins ta ye lad. Kryen's me name and ah'll be yer opponent fer the final duel."

CJ clicked his duel disk into place. "Fine with me. I've got no reason to complain with a little friendly duel."

Kryen clicked his own black and silver duel disk into place. "Friendly eh? Ah'm doubtin that this ere duel's gonna be friendly." He drew his five and then his sixth. "Cause mah first card's gonna be Terraformin. This'll let me search mah deck for one field magic card and place it inta mah hand." He popped his deck out of its deck slot and then opened his field magic card slot. "Can ya guess what ah chose?"

CJ frowned, since he was fairly sure he knew what his opponent had chosen. "I can guess that you chose the Seal of Dark Souls?"

Kryen slid a card from his hand into the slot and then closed it. "That's right. Ah chose the Seal o' Dark Souls!" The air around them shimmered and then a field of black and grey energy formed around them. "Now yer in trouble lad. As ye probably know, ah get an extra 500 attack points when ah play this ere card."

CJ rubbed his eyes with his hands. "I'm more worried out the headache that I'm getting from hearing you talk."

Kryen growled and slid two cards into his duel disk. "Yer gonna regret insultin the way ah talk! End turn!"

CJ drew and fanned out his hand. ("Okay, so he didn't summon a monster. What does that mean though? Did he just not have one or does he want me to attack him?") He grasped a card gently around the edges and placed it into his duel disk. "Alright big man, let's see you deal with one of my big men. I summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in attack mode!" A fire-breathing ape appeared on his field. "Attack his life points directly!" The ape howled and charged across the field to attack Kryen.

Kryen's face twisted into a smile. "Ye certainly are the dumbest of yer friends." He tapped a button on his disk. "Ah reveal Metal Reflect Slime!" A blob of silver steel appeared on his field and absorbed the hit from the attack. "This trap makes a 3000 defender fer me as long as it's out. So what do yah got ta say about that ?"

CJ- 7000/7000

Kryen- 8000/8000

CJ slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I've got two words for you. Remove Trap." The metal slime shivered and then exploded. "End turn."

Kryen drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "Yer thinkin that'll stop me? Ye best be thinkin again! Activate Double Summon! At the cost of 1500 of mah life points ah'm allowed ta summon two monsters instead of one this turn!"

CJ- 7000/7000

Kryen- 6500/8000

CJ gritted his teeth. ("That Seal of Dark Souls makes his monsters way too powerful. They'll be tough enough to defeat my Gorilla!")

Kryen threw down his two monsters onto his disk. "Ah summon Retrained Celtic Guardian (1900/1200) and Command Knight!" (1700/19000)

On his field an Elvin warrior appeared and next to it a female knight.

CJ wiped a couple of drops of sweat from his forehead. "And here I was expecting to get beaten, but even with the Seal of Dark Soul's effect, your monsters can't beat my Berserk Gorilla."

Kryen snickered and pointed at his Command Knight. "Do ye even know what mah monster does? She makes all warriors 400 attack points stronger!"

Retrained Celtic Guardian (2300/1200)

Command Knight (2100/1900)

"Now attack 'is Gorilla!" The Retrained Celtic Guardian shot across the field and slashed the ape apart. Then the Command Knight followed up behind it and slammed its weapon down on CJ's shoulder.

CJ-4600/4600

Kryen- 6500/8000

CJ came to his feet growling. "What about the Dark Soul Tokens!? Shouldn't they be draining your soul points?"

Kryen pointed at his face-down card that he had flipped face-up. "Ah, but ye've triggered mah Dark Soul Barriar trap card. This'll make me safe from the Seal. End turn."

CJ drew and smirked. "Time for a counter-attack." He slid two cards into his duel disk. "Activate Compensation for Loss! Now for every card I discard this turn, I'll draw one card from my deck at the end phase of the turn. Next up is the magic card Monster Reborn! Revive my Berserk Gorilla in attack mode!" The Gorilla reappeared on his field, only to explode apart. "And then I sacrifice it to summon Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000) in attack mode!" A winged lion monster appeared on his field.

He slid another card into his duel disk. "Now Pot of Greed so that I can draw two new cards from my deck." He drew two new cards and slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I activate Genocide War!" His hand lifted to point at the Retrained Celtic Guardian. "Manticore of Darkness attack!" The winged lion lunged across the field and slammed into the Elvin swordsman, only to be cut apart.

CJ-4600/2300

Kryen- 6500/8000

Kryen chuckled loudly. "Didn't ye know that mah monster cannot be killed in battle with a monster that has 1900 er more attack points!?"

CJ pointed at his Genocide War continuous magic card. "Yeah, but as long as Genocide War is in play then all monsters that battle die. That means it's the end of the line for your monster too." The Retrained Celtic Guardian shuddered and then exploded.

Kryen snickered, "That's a good strategy, but aren't ye fergettin that yer wide open now?"

CJ took a card from his hand and slid it into his graveyard. "No I'm not. I'm discarding a beast monster from my hand to revive my Manticore at the end of the turn, and since Compensation of Loss is in effect, I draw one card too." He drew a card and his winged lion reformed on his field. He looked his two cards over and slid one into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Kryen drew and threw down another monster. "Ah play Blade Knight (2100/1000) in attack mode!" An armored knight appeared on his field. "An thanks to its special ability, it gains 400 attack points when ah've got one or less cards in mah hand." (2500/1000)

CJ frowned and did a couple of quick math calculations in his head. ("This is gonna hurt.")

Kryen pointed at CJ. "Attack im now Blade Knight!" The silver armored warrior charged across the field, ready to chop the Manticore of Darkness apart.

CJ tapped a button on his duel disk, flipping up his face-down card. "Now wait a second, I'm activating a quickplay magic card called Call to Arms! This allows me to take any equipment magic card in my hand and equip it to my monster. So I activate United We Stand, raising my monster's attack power by 800 points for every monster on my field." The Manticore of Darkness roared and began to glow with a bright light. (3100/1800) It snarled and crushed the Blade Knight's head in.

CJ- 4600/2300

Kryen- 5900/7400

Kryen looked down at his remaining hand card and slid it into his duel disk. "Then ah guess ah'll just have ta set this ere card face-down and switch mah Command Knight inta defense mode."

CJ drew and looked down at his soul point meter. ("I'll lose if I attack. I need a way to get rid of his Seal of Dark Souls.") "End turn."

Kryen drew and threw down his new monster. "Now ah'll summon another Command Knight in defense. End turn."

CJ drew and his eyes widened a little. ("Hmm...") "End turn."

Kryen drew and slid another card into his duel disk. "Set and end."

CJ drew again, hoping this was the card to get rid of the damned seal. ("Please...") He looked at the drawn card and smiled. "Get ready! First I play Heavy Storm to destroy all magic and trap cards on the field." A sharp wind picked up around them. As soon as it was done, the field was clear except for their monsters and the Seal of Dark Souls, which was starting to crack.

Kryen smirked. "Aww, are ya so quick ta ferget that ya can't destroy the Seal like that?"

CJ slid his next card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Judgment of Beast. This magic card will cost half of my life points, but the effect is more than worth it. It's going to allow me to disable all continuous effects on your field for three turns!"

Kryen looked at the dome that the Seal had formed and he shrugged. "It ain't gonna work. The Seal's too strong."

CJ chuckled. "The cracks all along your seal say otherwise. In its weakened condition, my magic card should work. So here we go...."

CJ- 2300/2300

Kryen- 5900/7400

The Seal of Dark Souls shuddered and faded away.

CJ grinned and pointed at the Command Knight. "Attack Manticore!" The monster howled and shot across the field, only to be stopped cold by the other Command Knight.

Kryen laughed heartily at the confused look on CJ's face. "Didn't ya know that as long as mah Command Knight is in play, ya gotta attack another monster besides it? Since ah got two of em on the field..."

CJ clenched his fists. "You get an instant defense lock."

Kryen drew and slid his two monsters into the graveyard. "Now ah'm gonna summon a monster that'll take ye down. Come forth Buster Blader!" (2600/2300) A warrior carrying a huge sword appeared on his field, weapon braced for combat. "Cut down 'is Manticore!" The warrior charged and slashed right through CJ's monster, leaving him with nothing on the field or in his hand.

CJ- 2000/2000

Kyen- 5900/7400

CJ looked down at his deck. "Alright, I've got two turns left before your Seal of Dark Souls comes back into effect, so I've got to finish you off before then." He drew. "And let's start with this!" He slid the card into his duel disk. "Activate Treasure of Fate!" A white die appeared on his field. "By rolling one die, I may draw as many cards as the number is shows have. So go dice roll!" The die launched across the field and landed at Kryen's feet on a six. "And now I'll finish you off in one blow!" He drew six cards and slid one of them into his duel disk. "Go Overrun! At the cost of half of my life points, this card will increase the attack of all monsters on my field by 800 for every monster on my field. More or less they all get a United We Stand boost until the end of the turn!"

CJ- 1000/2000

Kyen- 5900/7400

He slid four more cards into his duel disk. "Now I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Manticore in attack mode. Then I activate the Legendary Weapon Card Guardian's Maul to add my monster's defense to its attack power, and then I'll double its defense!" (4100/2000)

"After that my next card is Wild Nature's Release, which will add my monster's defense to its attack power for until the end of the turn, when it will die." (6100/0)

"And my final card means that this duel is over for you! Excalibur doubles my creature's attack power and therefore it has more than enough attack power to wipe you and your monster right off the field!" (12200/0)

Kryen couldn't believe this. "How could ya do all that!? It's...."

CJ pointed angrily at Buster Blader. "I can't take your accent anymore! Manticore of Darkness, attack with Holy Guardian's Wave!" The monster launched across the field and slashed the Buster Blader in half. "And that's it! It's over..."

CJ- 1000/2000

Kryen- 0/0

Kryen felt a sudden stinging sensation through his body and then he collapsed to the ground, his soul gone.

CJ looked at the inanimate Kryen and walked past him muttering, "I'm never gonna duel against someone with an accent ever again." He walked through the tunnel on the other end of the playing field, ready to face whatever awaited him next.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Legendary Weapon of the Air


	25. The Legendary Weapon of the Air

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 25: The Legendary Weapon of the Air

It didn't take Yami long to reach the square chamber where he would duel his opponent. ("And after that it's on to battle the man behind all of this.") When he arrived he found his opponent.

For this dueling occasion, Seren had worn his very best finery. He'd put on a nice cream-colored business suit that fit in well with his feathery white hair. His pale, yet beautiful features smiled calmly as he watched his opponent enter the chamber. ("So I get the Pharaoh hmm? I would have preferred Rikuo, but oh well.") He put on his best smile and bowed to the King of Games. "Greetings Pharaoh. That is who I am speaking to, correct?"

Yami nodded sharply, his duel disk clicking into place. "That's right. Now who are you?"

Seren lifted up from his bow and clicked his duel disk into place. "Seren Teska, the lord of Crane Demons."

Yami frowned. "So our mystery enemy has some of the demon lords under his control? Why would you obey him? Doesn't he need your soul to use the Legendary Weapon Card of your clan?"

Seren chuckled and nodded. "Yes, but that doesn't mean that he is required to steal my soul. He told me of his divine purpose for doing all of this, and I was more than willing to join his cause. Plus it's been a good way to pass the time while I lived on through the centuries." He drew his five card hand. "Enough about that though. I'll go first, since you technically are challenging me?"

Yami nodded. "Very well." He drew his five.

Seren drew his sixth card and gracefully placed a card onto his disk. "I'll start this off on a light note. I summon Harpy Lady (1300/1400) in attack mode." A hybrid of a bird and a woman appeared on his field. "Then I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Yami drew and grabbed a card from his hand. ("Now the question is, is that Harpy Lady his deck theme or is it there to throw me off. Wind deck or Harpy Lady deck?") He threw down a monster onto his disk. "I summon Dark Blade (1800/1500) in attack mode. Now attack his Harpy Lady!" A black-armored warrior appeared on his field and charged, sword raised to slice the Harpy Lady apart.

Seren tapped a button on his duel disk. "And when you blindly charge, I play my Mirror Wall trap card to cut the attack of your monster in half." A wall of crystal sprang up between the Dark Blade and the Harpy Lady. The warrior's blade slammed into the crystal wall and he faltered. (900/1500)

("I guess that answers what kind of deck he plays.") Yami continued to look his hand over for any kind of answer to his opponent's trap.

Seren pointed at the weakened warrior. "Harpy Lady counter-attack!" The woman screeched and snapped her claws across the warrior's body, cutting him apart in one hit.

Yami- 7600

Seren- 8000

Yami already had his defense planned. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Seren drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Harpie's Feather Duster! This will blow away all of your magic and trap cards on the field." A sharp wind picked up and was launched across the field, instantly destroying the two face-down cards that Yami has set.

The Pharaoh looked at his remaining three cards and gritted his teeth. ("I can't believe I forgot that Harpie's Feather Duster could deal with my face-down traps.")

Seren tossed down another monster. "You're making this too easy Yami. I summon Birdface (1600/1600) in attack mode!" A horrendous bird monster appeared on his field and screeched along with the Harpy Lady as they both placed Yami into their sights. "Directly attack his life points!" The two monsters launched across the field and slammed their claws into his body, sending him stumbling backwards.

Yami- 4700

Seren- 8000

Seren looked at his remaining face-down card and grinned. "End turn."

Yami drew. ("If this is a Harpy Lady deck, then that face-down card is most likely a Shadow of Eyes trap card. That will cause me a lot of damage if I set the wrong monster in defense mode.") "I set this monster face-down on my field."

Seren sighed and tapped a button on his duel disk. "You're going to lose at this rate Pharaoh. Activate the trap card Shadow of Eyes! This will immediately change you monster into attack mode!"

The card shuddered and flipped over to reveal a man with a huge shield, though he remained in a crouching position. "I'm not anywhere near beaten yet. Big Shield Gardna's (100/2600) special ability allows me to negate one effect that targets him when he is face-down, so therefore he is still in defense mode." Yami slid two of the cards he was holding into his duel disk. "Now I set there two cards face-down and end my turn."

Seren drew and slid another card into his duel disk. "Your monster may be safe, but your trap cards certainly aren't. Activate another Harpie's Feather Duster!" Another funnel of wind launched towards Yami's field, but this time it was stopped when it was about halfway there.

Yami pointed at his flipped trap card. "Magic Jammer allows me to discard one card from my hand to negate your magic card." The wind funnel quickly dissipated.

Seren glanced at his hand and smirked. "That's not the only wind I possess though." He slid a card into his duel disk. "For example, I have this Mystical Space Typhoon magic card that will instantly destroy your remaining face-down card." A sharp wind blew across the field and shattered Yami's remaining trap. "Since neither of my monster's can beat your Big Shield, I'm just going to have to end my turn." He knew that he could attack the monster once, and then its special ability would force it into attack mode, but he had other plans.

Yami drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "It looks like for all of your dusters and cyclones, you still won't stop me. Card of Sanctity forces both players to draw until they have six cards in their hands." He quickly drew his six and looked them over to see what his new strategy was going to be. "Alright, now I activate the magic card Soul Exchange! This will allow me to sacrifice your monsters instead of mine." He smiled as Seren's monsters started to fade. "The thing is....I'm going to be sacrificing my own monster too. For now I summon Egyptian God Card, The Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Behind him there was a huge flash of light, followed by a huge form that appeared right behind him. It looked like gigantic bipedal golden dragon. "This is your end Seren, the Winged Dragon of Ra will finish you off and then I will move on to your boss." (3000/5600)

Seren shook his head sadly. "You forget that by playing Soul Exchange you are not allowed to attack me this turn."

Yami didn't forget. "Of course, but let's see you stop me from using Ra in one turn." He slid two cards from his hand into his duel disk. "Now I set these two cards on my field and end my turn."

Seren drew and fanned out his seven cards with a smile on his face. "You asked me to stop Ra. So that is exactly what I will do." He slid a card into his disk. "First my final Harpie's Feather Duster to sweep away your face-down cards!" Another funnel of green wind consumed all of Yami's cards instantly. "Then I shall summon Cyber Harpy (1800/800) in attack mode." A Harpy Lady wearing black armor appeared on his field. "Next up is the magic cards Rose Whip and Cyber Armor, raising my monster's attack power by a grand total of 1000 points." The Harpy screeched in delight as she was encased in a form fitting bodice of steel and a thorned whip appeared in her grasp. (2800/1800)

Yami still wasn't impressed. "So far all I see is another one of your monsters for me to cut down."

Seren smirked and slid another card into his duel disk. "My next play is to use the magic card Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two and slid another card into his disk. "Here is the final blow against Ra. I activate my ultimate weapon, the Legendary Weapon Card Winged Bow!" The Cyber Harpy attached the Rose Whip to her belt and an elegant bow shaped like a bird's wing appeared in her grasp. "With my Legendary Weapon Card attached to her, my Cyber Harpy gains two very useful effects. The first one raises its attack points by 500 points!" (3300/1800) "And the second allows my monster to attack all creatures on my opponent's field each turn. Now my Lady, crush The Winged Dragon of Ra now!" The Cyber Harpy pulled back the string of the bow and an arrow appeared. She released her hold on arrow and it shot across the field to tear right through the mighty God Card.

Yami- 4400

Seren- 8000

Yami looked down at remaining three cards with a smile on his face. ("And you're falling right into my trap.")

Seren nodded to Yami. "Alright Pharaoh, try and beat that."

Yami drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "Don't worry; I have a plan you will not be able to beat. First I set these two cards face-down, and then I summon Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode." A little brown furball appeared on his field. "For my last play, I activate the magic card Monster Reborn to revive your Harpy Lady under my control!" There was a flash of light on his field and the bird-woman appeared next to Yami's Kuriboh. "End turn."

Seren drew and pointed at Yami's Harpy Lady. "Attack now Cyber Harpy!" The bird-woman on his field raised the Winged Bow and aimed it at Yami's monster.

The Pharaoh smiled and tapped a button on his duel disk. "And now my new play is ready to begin. You see I realized something about Harpy Lady decks, and that is that they use a lot of equipment magic cards to power up their monsters. So I figured out how to use that to my advantage with this trap card. Reveal Collected Power! This will transfer all of your monster's equipment cards to my Harpy Lady!"

Seren's Cyber Harpy shimmered and then all of her weapons and armor disappeared right as the arrow from her bow was launched. (1800/800) Yami's Harpy Lady glowed and then looked exactly like the Cyber Harpy had just moments before. (2800/1900) The Harpy Lady snapped up her new bow and fired an arrow that tore right through the first one and right through Seren's Cyber Harpy.

Yami- 4400

Seren- 7000

Seren looked down at his hand and frowned. "I set one monster face-down and one card face-down. End turn."

Yami drew and a look came into his eye. It was the look that spelled doom for many a duelist. "First, Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Then Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I may revive Ra from my graveyard for one turn." The ground at his feet was consumed in a torrent of light as the huge form of the Egyptian God rose out of the ground. (0/0)

Yami- 3600

Seren- 7000

"And for the finale I normal summon Dark Gaia of the Gale to the field since it is the last card in my hand." He placed the monster card on the disk and a knight riding on top of a purple horse appeared on his field. "It's over Seren! I flip up my face-down Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card!" A sharp wind struck the demon's face-down card and blew it apart.

Seren looked at his face-down monster and paled. ("No....that's just a Harpy Lady. Without my Mirror Wall, she's useless to me!")

Yami pointed at Ra. "Now to finish you off. First I trigger the special ability of the Winged Dragon of Ra! God Phoenix!" The golden dragon roared and was encased within a form of fire that made it look like some kind of phoenix. It sprayed out a wave of fire that instantly destroyed Seren's face-down Harpy Lady. "And that only costs me 1000 life points too."

Yami- 2600

Seren- 7000

"Then I activate the special effect of The Winged Dragon on Ra that allows me to sacrifice my monsters to it. Every time that I do, its attack power increases by the attack power of sacrificed monster!" Yami's three monsters on his field exploded in bursts of flame. The fire from their deaths swirled around the golden form of The Winged Dragon of Ra as its attack power increased. (5400/4100)

While outwardly he was gritting his teeth in frustration, inwardly Seren was smiling. ("This is all according to my plan.")

Yami pointed at his already enormous Egyptian God Card. "And now to use the final effect of Ra! By sacrificing all but one of my life points, I may increase its attack power by the sacrificed number!" (7999/4100) "Now this duel is over! Winged Dragon of Ra, attack with God Breath Cannon!" The dragon opened its jaws wide and unleashed a pillar of flaming energy that blew Seren into the wall of the chamber, where he slid to the ground, unconscious.

The Pharaoh walked up to his opponent and then he looked down at the his duel disk, where the Winged Bow Legendary Weapon Card still resided, thanks to his Collected Power. "I'll just hang onto this until you awaken." With that said he slid the card into his deck and walked through the open hallway.

The moment he left Seren opened his eyes and smiled. "By all means, you're more than welcome to borrow it. I'll get it back." He stood up and brushed off his suit. Whistling a little tune he went out the way Yami had come in. ("Now onto phase two of my plan.")

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Deondre emerged into some kind of jungle area. ("When did I get outside?") He sniffed the air and was sure that this wasn't some kind of illusion. "Alright, so where's my opponent?"

His ears twitched a little as he heard something rustle in a bush behind him. He hopped forward just in time to dodge a knife that was aimed for his neck. Spinning around, Deondre found himself looking at a man wearing the black cloak of an Emissary. "Great, another one of you guys. So what do you want?"

The man pulled back his robe to reveal a black ponytail. He smiled enough to reveal a pair of long fangs. "I am Viper, the demon lord of snakes. My apology if my attack seemed unprovoked, but I had to be sure that it really was the dog demon lord I was facing."

Deondre bristled a little. ("Why did I have to be a dog? Why did Daniel get something people fear, while I got something people keep as a pet!?") He growled angrily, his eyes shimmering in the faint light of the jungle. "Let's just get this over with."

Viper clicked his duel disk into place and nodded. "As you wish. Are you ready to be destroyed?"

Deondre clicked his duel disk into place and drew his five. "Yeah right, I'm not going to lose to you. I've got a destiny ahead of me."

Viper drew his five cards and hissed quietly. "What destiny is that? Is there a chew toy out there somewhere that is calling your name?"

Deondre narrowed his eyes and lifted his lip a little to show his fangs. "You want to start dealing low blows, huh? Fine, just watch as I wipe you out completely."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The return of the poison


	26. The return of the poison

Disclaimer: I swear if you ask me if I own Yugioh....

Random guy: Do you own Yugioh?

Disclaimer:...................................::Slaps::

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 25: The return of the poison

_Viper drew his five cards and hissed quietly. "What destiny is that? Is there a chew toy out there somewhere that is calling your name?"_

_Deondre narrowed his eyes and lifted his lip a little to show his fangs. "You want to start dealing low blows, huh? Fine, just watch as I wipe you out completely."_

Viper drew and sighed happily. "Ah, to be back in the game after all of this time. And to think that my first opponent is nothing more than a demon who is just learning of his power. This should be easy."

Deondre cracked his knuckles and then pulled his hand back out of his pocket. "Just keep talking all you want buddy. In the end I'll be onto the next battle and you'll be gone."

The snake demon lord glanced down at his hand and snickered. "Oh really? Well then let's see you get past this." He placed a monster face-down on his disk. "End turn."

Deondre drew and grinned. "I'll get past your defense easily." He slapped down his monster. "I summon D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) in attack mode!" A woman in a grey bodysuit wielding a laser dagger appeared on his field. "Attack his monster now!" She lunged and slashed her weapon across the card, tearing it to shreds.

Viper looked down at his duel disk and then held up his card. "Cobra Jar (800/800) allows me to special summon one Cobra Token (500/500) to the field when it destroyed." A normal looking hooded cobra appeared on his field.

Deondre looked at his hand and smirked. "End turn for now."

Viper drew and motioned to his Cobra Token. "Now I sacrifice the Cobra Token to summon my avatar!" The little snake exploded and in its place was a black-robed man with glowing slotted yellow eyes. "Prepare to be poisoned by the power of Snake Demon Lord!" (2000/2500) The robed demon opened its mouth impossibly wide to reveal huge fangs. It charged across the field and bit down on the D.D. Warrior Lady's neck. She shuddered and tapped a button on her belt. There was a flash of light and when it cleared both she and the demon were gone.

Deondre- 7500

Viper- 8000

Deondre continued to smirk. "Now if I am correct, that would be a pretty symbolic loss huh? You're monster just got removed from play and soon you'll be removed in general."

Viper snickered. "Do you even understand what my Snake Demon Lord's special ability is? When it deals you battle damage to you, your life points become infected with a poison counter."

Deondre looked down at his life point gauge, and sure enough there was a little purple square in the corner of the display screen. "What's that mean?"

"It means that every one of your turns you will lose 200 life points for every poison counter you have." Viper slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "And it's about to get a lot worse for you too, because I'm activating the magic card Poison Injection Device." A syringe appeared in the air next to him and flew over to stab Deondre's duel disk. "This will double the number of poison counters you have."

"And finally I set one card face-down. End turn." The card appeared on the field in front of Viper and he sneered at Deondre. "Alright dog, make your move."

Deondre drew and watched as his life points dropped.

Deondre- 7100

Viper- 8000

The dimension duelist glanced at his hand and frowned, bringing his gaze to his opponent's field. ("What do you have face-down? Is it a bluff or a real trap?")

Viper saw Deondre's hesitation and hissed in a way that sounded a little like a laugh. "What's the matter whelp? Can't decide what to play?"

"I've had just about enough of you." Deondre grabbed the monster he had been considering and slapped it down. "I summon Dimensional Warrior (1200/800) in attack mode!" A red-haired futuristic warrior appeared on his field. "Now attack his life points directly!"

Viper flipped up his face-down card as the monster flew towards him. "Sorry dog, but I've got a little something for you! Activate Poisonous Infection Overload! This will end your battle phase and double the number of poison counters you have."

Deondre glared at the four purple squares on his duel disk. ("Damn...at this rate I'm gonna lose all of my life points.") "End turn."

Viper drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "First I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He drew two cards and hissed in displeasure. "Well this is disappointing."

Deondre snickered, "Aw, poor snake has a bad hand?"

Viper slid two cards into his duel disk. "Actually, I've got a good hand. It's just that I wanted to avoid to killing you off so fast. Activate my other two Poison Injection Device cards!" Two more syringes appeared and stabbed Deondre's duel disk, leaving him with sixteen purple squares in his life point screen. "Then I'll set one monster face-down on my field and one card as well. End turn."

Deondre drew and winced as his life points plunged downwards.

Deondre- 3900

Viper- 8000

He fanned out his hand and gritted his teeth. ("How am I going to get rid of those poison counters? They'll destroy me in just two turns if I don't do something about them right now.") The only problem was that he didn't see any potential way to fix that. ("Though maybe I don't need to fix it. Maybe I can use this to my advantage.") "First I'll play the magic card Monster Gate!" A portal appeared in the place where his Dimensional Warrior used to stand. "Now I'll draw cards off the top of my deck until I reach a monster that I can summon to the field. The rest of the cards do go to the graveyard, so let's hope for something good!"

He began to draw cards off the top of his deck. Ten cards later he finally came to a monster. Sliding the rest of the stacked cards into his graveyard, he slapped down his new monster onto his disk. "Monster Gate's effect gives me just the paydirt I needed to turn this around. I summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" The purple-robed spellcaster appeared on his field.

Viper narrowed his slotted eyes suspiciously at the Dark Magician. "What can he do that is so special? He doesn't possess any kind of effect."

Deondre took another card from his hand and slid it into his disk. "That's true, but I have much bigger plans for him. First I'll play the magic card Knight's Title!" The Dark Magician slowly shifted into the form of an armored warrior with a sword. "This will transform him into the Dark Magician Knight!" (2500/2100)

Viper didn't seem impressed. "His attack and defense totals are still exactly the same. What has improved?"

Deondre pointed at Viper's face-down monster. "This has improved! When my Dark Magician Knight hits the field he automatically destroys one card. I choose your face-down monster card!" The Knight tossed its sword and pierced the face-down monster, which was destroyed instantly. "Now, direct attack!" The Knight shot forward and slammed its sword down against Viper, sending him flying backwards a few feet.

Deondre- 3900

Viper- 5500

Deondre slid four cards into his disk. "Now I set these four cards face-down and end my turn."

Viper drew and tossed down a monster. "I summon Ipiria (500/500) in defense mode." A little blue lizard appeared on his field. "When Ipiria is summoned I may draw one card from my deck." He drew and slid another card into his disk. "Now I play the magic card Snakeblood Infusion. This will sacrifice my Ipiria and allow me to summon one Sea Serpent monster from my hand to the field." The little blue lizard screeched and then blew apart. "Now I summon Rainbow Snake Eingana (2200/2400) in defense mode!" A huge rainbow colored snake monster appeared on his field and hissed down at Deondre.

The dimension duelist looked at his four face-down cards and then up at the snake. "Heh, not even worth using my trap on."

Viper placed his final remaining card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Deondre drew and tapped a button on his duel disk. "Before you get all excited and think you've got me with your poison, let me show you my face-down card." One of his four face-down cards flipped up. "Curse of Pain reflects the damage of your poison effect back at you!"

Deondre- 3900

Viper- 2300

He looked at his next card and slid it into his disk. "Now attack his snake! Go Dark Magician Knight!" The knight launched across the field and slashed the snake in half. The two halves of the rainbow-colored snake fell to both sides of the knight, and then both exploded in one huge explosion of light. When the light died down Deondre's Dark Magician Knight was gone.

Viper hissed in delight. "Heheheheh, you're a fool. Rainbow Snake Eingana destroys all monsters on the field when it is killed in battle."

Deondre looked at his field and smirked. "Then I flip up my face-down Soul Resurrection trap card. As long as this remains on the field I may revive one non-effect monster from my graveyard! Return to my field, Dark Magician!" The Soul Resurrection trap card spat out a cloud of white mist that cleared to reveal the Dark Magician back on his field in a crouching position. "The only downside is that it comes to the field in defense mode, so I can't attack you and end the game right now. My turn's at its end."

Viper drew and his smiled widened. "I could simply let my poison counters take you down, but I'd prefer to wipe you out the old-fashioned way. First I flip up my face-down Monster Reborn, reviving Rainbow Snake Eingana to the field in attack mode!" A nearby bog bubbled and the rainbow-colored form of Viper's monster slithered out of it and joined its master on the field.

Viper slid his next card into his duel disk. "Now I play Snake's Venomous Bite to allow my monster to attack you directly this turn." The Rainbow Snake Eingana hissed loudly and slithered back into the bog, disappearing from sight.

Deondre went on his guard instantly. ("This won't be good at all. If this duel is real then I'll be swallowed alive.") A pool of still water near him bubbled and he tapped a button on his duel disk. ("If I time this right...")

The head of the Rainbow Snake Eingana broke the surface of the water and hissed, coming down with fangs open to consume the duelist in its sights.

Deondre bent at the legs and jumped a good ten feet in the air, easily out of its biting distance. He landed next to the mass of its body just as one of his face-down cards flipped up. "I'm not going to go down that easily Viper. Reveal my face-down trap card, Dimensional Warp Field!" There was a flash of blue light and the Dark Magician and Rainbow Snake Eingana were gone.

Viper stared at the spot where they had disappeared. "What happened?"

Deondre held up his trap card. "This is the end of you. My trap card allows both of our monsters to attack us directly. I, technically, took the hit from your Rainbow Snake Eingana, and you're about to take the hit from my Dark Magician." He smiled and tapped his chin. "Now...that would mean that you're about to lose all of your life points. So...bye."

Viper's eyes widened as the form of the Dark Magician appeared in front of him, staff raised. "But I didn't even get a chance to use my Legendary Weapon Card!"

Deondre gave his opponent a little wave. "Them's the breaks. Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician unleashed a wave of inverted light that blew Viper backwards into a tree. The snake demon lord collapsed to his knees and then fell face-first to the ground, unconscious.

Deondre- 1700

Viper- 0

As the holograms disappeared off the field, an open doorway appeared in front of Deondre. He looked over to see if Viper was still there, and after he was sure that the snake demon was not going to follow and cause him any more trouble, he left. ("Now to go and pay Envirius a visit.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Battling a loved one; Siegfried vs. Crystal


	27. Battling a loved one Siegfried vs Crysta...

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 27: Battling a loved one; Siegfried vs. Crystal

Siegfried Reinhardt had faced many challenges in his lifetime, but this had to be, by far, one of the strangest. ("To think that I came all this way to save Crystal, and now I am not only a tiger demon, but apparently I am supposed to stop this madman bent on world domination.") He sighed in exasperation for about the hundredth time since his first duel against the mysterious black-suited man. ("Why do things in my life always have to get so complicated?")

He was walking down a stone hallway, going off to face someone in a duel that would decide whether he would be allowed to proceed to the final location of the battle. ("Not that it matters. Though I still do not fully understand exactly what all this is about, I know to trust my gut instinct. And my gut instinct tells me that we are the ones who are fighting for the good side in this war.")

And in his mind that is what this was. It was a war between the eight of them and the mysterious black-suited man who had dared to kidnap Crystal. ("And for that I will make him pay.")

Finally the stone hallway he was following brought him to a large square stone chamber that was lit by the light of a few scarce torches on the walls. It was enough light to see with, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being in such grim conditions. ("It reminds me far too much of the Shadow Corporation's first tournament.")

"So you did come. That's a surprise. I would have thought that you simply would have left me with Master Envirius." The voice of another person in the room brought him to a stop.

"Crystal..." Even without his now enhanced demon sight, he could tell it was her by the greenish-blue color of her hair. "It's you..." He moved forward to see if she was alright, but something about her brought him to a stop.

She was sneering at him...

Siegfried took another couple of steps back, wishing now more than ever that he could manifest his Legendary Weapon Card into its real form. "You're not Crystal. If there is one expression that she would never have on her face, it would be that." He felt his face slipping into the ice-coldness that he was all too used to. "So who are you?"

The girl smiled and brushed her black robes back to reveal the silver and black duel disk on her arm. "Just like I thought. You don't care at all Siegfried." He face turned into a cold scowl that made the German Duelist feel like he had done something wrong. "You were going to just leave me to die."

Siegfried wanted to believe with all of his heart that this wasn't Crystal, but every sense, both physical and otherwise, told him that it was her. "What are you talking about? The very day you were kidnapped I left Germany to get you back. Of course I wouldn't just leave you here."

Her duel disk clicked into place. "I'll get my revenge for you leaving me to die."

Siegfried knew now that something was wrong here. She wasn't even listening to him. "I will not fight you Crystal. You're not yourself."

Crystal had already drawn her five and opened his field magic card slot, where she had inserted a card. "You won't escape me. I will have my revenge. The master has decreed it and I will not let you hurt someone else. Activate Seal of Dark Souls!" An orb of grey and black energy formed around them, cutting off Siegfried's escape route.

("So be it. If I cannot run, then I will fight. I will not hurt Crystal, but I will fight.") His duel disk clicked into place and he drew his five. "I'll free you, I swear it."

She drew and slid a card into her disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Siegfried drew and glared at his soul point total. ("Why would anyone create a card that would do all of this to people? Why would anyone treat a soul like it is a possession to be wagered away?") These musings would have to wait until later though. For now, he had to find a way to destroy the Seal of Dark Souls before the duel could end. "Crystal, I do not understand what this Envirius has done to you, but I swear upon my honor and beyond that I will save you from whatever he has placed upon you."

Her cold laugh echoed across the chamber. "Save me? He has opened my eyes to the truth about you and the world in general. There is nothing worth caring about in this world. Nothing at all."

"That's where you are wrong." Siegfried placed down his first monster. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode." A demon dog appeared on his field. "End turn."

Crystal drew and slid the card into her fanned out hand. "What's the matter Siegfried? Are you afraid to fight? Don't you think that you can win against me?" She slid two more cards into her duel disk. "End turn."

Siegfried drew again and he felt the beginnings of frustration welling up inside of him. ("I cannot risk her life. It would be wrong to do this to her. She's not in her right mind.") "I summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode. End turn." A humanoid pile of flaming wood appeared on his field.

Crystal drew and slid her next card into her duel disk. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." She drew two cards off of her deck and then slid two cards into her disk. "Now I set these two cards face-down and end my turn."

Siegfried drew and calmly looked his hand over. ("She has yet to play a single monster card. In fact, she's completely filled up her field with magic and trap cards. Obviously she is not playing with her ocean deck, or else she would have played a monster by now.")

Not that he intended to fight her in this duel. He would find a way to help her if it was the last thing he did. ("Which it might be if I'm not careful. She doesn't seem to have any quarrel with trying to completely destroy me in this duel.") "End turn."

Crystal drew and flipped up all five of her face-down cards all at once. "Go three Tremendous Fires, Hinotama and Ookazi!"

Siegfried threw his arms up to protect himself, for he knew all too well what was about to happen. There was the roar of a fire and then he was aflame. And through it all he still racked his brain for some way to free Crystal of the hold that Envirius had over her.

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Joey cracked his knuckles as he stepped into the chamber. His duel disk was already in place and he was ready to take down whoever or whatever the mystery bad guy had decided to throw at him.

Meanwhile, Aishito felt like crying. ("I'm one of the twenty most powerful men in the world...I've got a small army's worth of weapons at my disposal...and yet, Envirius gives me Joey Wheeler for an opponent.") He sighed and knew that he deserved it, considering he had lost to Pilkington and Rikuo, though that didn't mean that he had to like it.

Joey looked over at the aged Japanese man and smiled. "Let's get this duel started!"

Aishito clicked his duel disk into place. "I hope you know that you are going to lose."

Joey drew his five and then his sixth. "Say what you will, but I'm going to win this duel."

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As the flames from the magic cards extinguished, Siegfried lowered his arms and his slotted ice-blue eyes looked wearily at Crystal. "Is this what you enjoy? You apparently want me to suffer for no reason, so here I am. I'm suffering. Happy?"

Crystal's eyes quivered from a sudden flood of anger. "I'll only be content when you are long dead!" She grabbed a card from her hand and slid it into her disk. "Go Hinotama!" Another fireball appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him, engulfing him in flames that seared his soul.

Siegfried- 3200/3200

Crystal- 6500/6500

Through the fires, Siegrfried's eyes continued to watch her, unblinking. "Do you even realize that I'm not to blame for this?"

"Shut up! Activate another Ookazi!" Crystal slid another card into her duel disk and engulfed Siegfried in more flames.

Siegfried- 2400/2400

Crystal- 6500/6500

Siegfried was running out of time. ("Envirius has given her a deck with nothing but damage inflicting magic cards. Apparently he counted on me not fighting back against Crystal.") He looked at his hand and sighed. ("I can't fight her.") Folding the fan of cards up, he slid it into his jeans pocket and waited for the pain from the fire to pass. ("I must try and talk her down. I cannot hurt her.")

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Joey slapped down his monster. "Lemme start off with something big, Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!" A dark steel knight appeared on his field. "End turn."

Aishito drew and tossed down his monster. "I summon Shiraku the Mystic (1600/1500) in defense mode!" A man dressed in white robes appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Then I set these two cards face-down. End turn."

Joey drew and slid his Gearfried into the graveyard. "It's time to interfere with your plans, Aishito. I sacrifice my Iron Knight to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode." The metal green monster appeared on his field and growled. "Now attack his Shiraku!"

Aishito flipped up one of his face-down cards. "I've always learned that relying on traps is a pathetic way to win a duel. Activate Offerings to the Doomed!" The flipped up card shimmered and then fired a beam of light that blew Joey's Jinzo apart.

Joey slid two cards into his duel disk. "I'm not done yet. End turn."

Aishito, as per the effect of his Offerings to the Doomed card, didn't draw his card for the turn. "Joey Wheeler...You're not even worth my time." He slid his Shiraku into the graveyard and then slapped down a monster. "I summon The Unholy Mystic (2300/500) in attack mode!" A man wearing black robes and chanting a spell appeared on the field. "When I summon this monster, I may pick up any magic card from my deck and place it into my hand!" His deck slot made a mechanical whining noise and it spat up a card. Aishito caught it in his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "Go Heavy Storm!"

Joey grinned as he saw his chance. He tapped two buttons on his duel disk and both of his face-down cards flipped up. "I reveal Call of the Haunted and Warrior's Tears!" In front of him there was an explosion and a cloud of smoke. "Warrior's Tears lets me special summon any warrior sub-type monster from my graveyard to the field, while Call of the Haunted lets me special summon any monster in general to the field from my graveyard!" The forms of Joey's Jinzo and Gearfried the Iron Knight could be seen within the smoke. "And thanks to the effect of Jinzo, even though my traps are about to be destroyed, their effects still do not go off. That means that my monsters will be safe!" As the tornado force winds of the Heavy Storm destroyed Joey's now pointless traps, the blond-haired duelist smirked superiorly. "You're in trouble now Aishito. I've got two powerful monsters on my field."

Aishito pointed at the Gearfried. "I can fix that! Unholy Mystic, attack with Darkness Chorus!" The dark-robed man began a song that echoed across the field and blew the metal knight apart.

Joey- 7500

Aishito- 8000

Aishito held up his face-down card. "That's not all though! I activate my face-down card in response to you triggering you Call of the Haunted. It's another Offerings to the Doomed! That means your monster is about to take another trip to the graveyard!" The card glowed and then spat out another beam of light that blew Joey's Jinzo apart a second time.

"Don't you do anything else besides blow my monsters out of existence?" Joey was getting annoyed with having to summon new creatures to replace each one that was getting struck down. "After all, you're not even anyone big in this little war of ours. You're just in my way, after all."

Aishito clenched his fists angrily and slid his final two cards into his duel disk. "I'll show you! End turn!"

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"Crystal, why are you doing this?" Siegfried had to know. He needed this question answered before he could decide what his next move was.

Her reply threw him off guard. "Because I hate you! I HATE YOU!!"

If there was one thing Siegfired disliked, it was random hate towards someone or something. "Why am I the target of your prejudice? What did I do to you that was so bad?" Crystal froze up at that, a confused look sliding across her face.

("So that's it. She is being controlled. Or least being manipulated.") And he knew exactly who the culprit was. Looking up at the dark dome surrounding them, he drew for his turn. "I'll strike this Seal down right now!" He pulled his hand of cards free of his pocket and then slid two cards into his duel disk. "Go Heavy Storm and Mystical Space Typhoon!" All around him the area went up in an explosion of wind that shattered the Seal instantly.

Crystal stumbled, but the anger he could feel coming off of her still remained, if only in small traces. ("Almost enough, but now I need to use my secret weapon to get past her.") He may have promised not to hurt her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to stop her for now. "Forgive me Crystal, but now that I know your soul won't be hurt, it's time for me to end this duel and move on. I've got a madman to extract payment from for doing this to you!"

Her eyes still burned with resentment towards him, but somewhere, deep in her mind, there was a small spark of hope.

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Joey drew and slid the card into his disk. "Pot of Greed anyone?" He drew two cards and then slid another into his duel disk. "Monster Reborn on Jinzo!" The metal monster reappeared on his field. "Next up is the magic card Ultimate Force! This allows me to special summon as many monsters from my hand as I can, and the only downside is that I must remove them all from play after that!" He threw down his three monster cards. "So I summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Gilford the Lightning and Rocket Warrior in attack mode!" A black-scaled dragon, a warrior wielding a huge sword, a little warrior made out of a rocket appeared on his field. (2400/2000) (2800/1400) (1500/1200)

"Jinzo attack!" The metal monster charged up a ball of energy that flew across the field and annihilated Aishito's Unholy Mystic.

Joey- 7500

Aishito- 7900

"Now everyone else, direct attack!" The collective monsters launched across the field, only to get stopped by a wall of black air.

Aishito held up one of his two face-down cards. "That's a shame Wheeler. You've just wasted you hand and most of your cards. You see by activating my Dark Wall of Air magic card, I've saved myself from being hit by any direct attacks this turn." He slid the card into his graveyard and smiled savagely as Joey's three summoned monsters exploded. "And since my second Offerings to the Doomed prevents me from drawing, and I have no cards in my hand, I suppose I end my turn."

Joey drew....

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Siegfried slid his two monsters into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my two monsters to summon a creature that will end this duel right now!" There was an explosion of light directly behind him as his creature formed.

When the light faded, a majestic knight on a white horse appeared on his field. "Crystal, this is the end. I have summoned a monster to the field with the potential necessary to end this in one painless blow." Behind him the knight reared up on his horse, his battle cry shaking the chamber. "Knight of Chivalry (2500/2000) in attack mode!"

Siegfried slid two more cards into his duel disk. "Next is the Legendary Weapon Card Thunder Claws, which raises my Knight's attack power by 3000 points!" A bolt of lightning slammed down on the knight, and when it cleared the warrior was now glowing with energy. (5500/2000) "And then for the finale, I play the magic cards Monster Reborn and Premature Burial to revive two monsters from my graveyard, which I then sacrifice to my Thunder Claws to raise the attack power of my Knight!" In front of him the forms of his Mad Dog and Blazing Inpachi appeared, only to explode as their energy was given to the Knight of Chivalry. (9250/2000) "Now, direct attack!"

The Knight of Chivalry launched across the field, skidding to halt in front of Crystal. The warrior lifted its hand and a white light washed painlessly over her, draining her life points without hurting her.

Siegfried- 1600

Crystal- 0

Before Crystal could even touch the ground, Siegfried had caught her. He looked down at her unconscious form and then looked ahead to the doorway. Gently placing her on the ground, he walked past her and through the entryway. ("Envirius, I have some business to discuss with you.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Torture King vs. The Grand Dragon

Author's Notes: To thegymrat: Nope, Siegfried is not the Siegfried from the KC Grand Prix. Same name, different guy.


	28. The Torture King vs The Grand Dragon

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 28: The Torture King vs. The Grand Dragon

Ryu entered his challenge room to find a ball of darkness waiting for him. He ran his nails through his golden hair and frowned. ("So straight to a darkness game hmm?") It wasn't that he minded, it was just that he disliked the fact that as of lately people were playing darkness games more often than what should have been necessary. ("Oh well. I'll beat whoever is in there and then move onto the leader of this.") Taking a deep breath and clicking his duel disk into place, he walked into the darkness.

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Joey drew and slapped down his card. "I summon Alligator's Sword (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A green-scaled lizard warrior appeared on his field.

Aishito flipped up his remaining face-down card. "And to make sure you don't win, I'll flip up another Offerings to the Doomed, blowing your Jinzo away and leaving you with just one monster!" The final red beam blew Jinzo apart.

Joey pointed at Aishito. "You're still in trouble! Direct attack!" The reptile warrior flew across the field and slammed its sword down on the older man's shoulder.

Joey- 7500

Aishito- 6400

Aishito nodded to Joey. "A small price to pay. I pass, since I have no cards and cannot draw because of my magic card."

Joey drew again and slapped down another monster. "Now I summon Battle Warrior!" (700/1000) A visor wearing fist-fighter appeared on Joey's field. "Now, direct attack again!" The two monsters launched forward and slammed their respective attacks down on Aishito, sending him skidding backwards.

Joey- 7500

Aishito- 4200

Aishito drew and threw down his own monster. "I summon Spell Weaver (1500/0) in attack mode!" A man wearing prism robes appeared on his field. "Now attack the Battle Warrior!" The monster shot out a beam of rainbow light that blew the warrior into nothingness.

Joey- 6700

Aishito- 4200

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Ryu was greeted by the sounds of a pipe organ when he entered the sphere. The haunting noises of the unseen instrument radiated around him like a disease.

"Jourgen...how good of you to come."

Ryu felt himself unintentionally froze up. In front of him was a creature that Rikuo had said he had banished from this plane. A creature so unholy that he still haunted the dragon demon in his dreams.

Giovan Garlin went into a deep bow. "I see that you survived your first death alright." He ran a hand through his black mustache and smirked. "We'll have to remedy that situation."

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Joey drew and slid his Alligator's Sword into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Maximum Six (1900/1200) in attack mode!" A purple four-armed giant appeared on his field and it threw a small white die out of one of its hands. "Whatever number the roll lands on will determine just how powerful my monster is going to become!" The die landed on a five. (2900/1200) "Now Maximum Six, attack his Spell Weaver now!" The monster charged across the field and pummeled Aishito's spellcaster into the ground.

Joey- 6700

Aishito- 2800

Aishito knew that he was running out of time, but he knew he could draw something to turn this situation around. "I draw!" He pulled the card off the top of his deck and smirked. Sliding it into his duel disk, his smile continued to widen. "Activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Green glowing swords crashed down on Joey's field. "Now you will not be able to attack for three turns."

Joey drew and grinned. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Swords of Revealing Light." A sharp wind blew across the field and blew the glowing swords apart.

Aishito paled. ("I lost to Joey Wheeler...")

Joey pointed at his opponent. "Maximum Six, direct attack!"

Right before the purple giant's blow knocked him unconscious; Aishito could still only think ("I lost to Joey Wheeler....")

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Ryu narrowed his eyes at the nightmare in front of him. "You're banished from this realm Sestros. Don't darken our world with your black heart."

Giovan drew five cards off the top of his already shuffled deck. "I'm not leaving...not yet. I still have a chance at life, thanks to Envirius. All I have to do is defeat you and I'll walk out of this sphere with a new body. Your body."

Ryu drew his five as well and then his sixth. "I thank the gods that I got you instead of Rikuo getting you. If he saw you again I doubt he would react as well as I am, and you killed me." He slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down on my field." He placed a monster face-down and vertical on his disk. "Then I set one monster in defense mode. End turn."

Giovan drew with a dark smile on his face. "Just to let you know Jourgen, your kind tastes delicious when you add some oriental spices." He placed down two cards on his field and then tossed out his monster. "Torture Knight (1700/2000) in attack mode." A knight monster with armor made completely of spiked chains appeared on his field. "Attack his face-down monster!" The knight charged across the field and in one downward slash Ryu's face-down monster was gone.

Ryu held up his creature. "When you destroy Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in battle, I may special summon one dragon sub-type monster from my deck to the field. I summon another Masked Dragon in defense mode!" A white and red dragon appeared on his field, its wings wrapped around its body protectively.

Giovan continued to smile. "It's too bad this isn't a darkness game with my personal twist, or else you would have the dead form of your dragon at your feet right now."

Ryu drew and slid his Masked Dragon into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my creature to summon Infernus the Pyro Dragon (2200/2000) in attack mode!" His field was consumed in flames and then a towering snake-like dragon made of flames appeared on his field. "Attack his Torture Knight now!" The dragon roared and launched across the field, its flaming form illuminating the pitch darkness of the sphere.

Giovan pointed at his face-down cards and flipped it up. "If the mutt and I could agree on one thing, it's that you run into traps far too easily! Reveal the trap card Nightmare Wheel!" A bone wheel appeared on his field, but then it shuddered and exploded.

Ryu pointed to one of his face-down cards that had flipped face-up. "Dragon's Bead allows me to discard one card from my hand to negate any trap card that targets a dragon monster on the field." Infernus's attack engulfed Giovan's Torture Knight and blew the monster apart.

Ryu- 8000

Giovan- 7500

Ryu wasn't smiling though. He was stern, "I will not listen to your mind games Sestros. The only thing I will do is send you back to your exile, so that I must never look upon your horrible face again."

Giovan drew and placed a monster in defense mode and one card face-down. "You're a fool Jourgen. I cannot be beaten by you."

Ryu allowed the beginnings of his own dark smile cross his face. "Oh? And you can be beaten by Rikuo, who was once your most powerful servant?"

Giovan slid a card into his duel disk. "A minor technicality. As soon as I am in control of your body, I will find him and kill him."

Ryu threw in dryly, "In his sleep most likely."

Giovan shrugged. "If that is what it comes to. End turn."

Ryu drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "It will never come to that though. I play Monster Reborn to revive my Crystallis the Ice Dragon (2200/2000) from my graveyard and bring it to my field!" Next to the burning form of his Pyro Dragon a huge pillar of ice formed. It shuddered and then exploded as the form of huge snake-like dragon made of ice appeared. "Now I attack with Infernus!" The fire dragon shot across the field, only to get intercepted halfway there by a pair of cups.

Giovan snickered from behind his flipped up Magic Cylinder trap card. "I'm not so easily beaten."

Ryu slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "The Dragon's Bead negates your trap." The cups shuddered and exploded into pieces. "Continue your attack Infernus!"

Giovan flipped up his next card. "No chance! Activate the trap card Ring of Destruction!"

Ryu slid the final card in his hand into his graveyard. "Once more, I negate your trap." The steel ring that was about to blow his dragon apart shuddered and exploded into dust. Finally Infernus landed its head-butt, blowing the face-down monster apart.

Giovan sneered. "Torture Machine-Juicer's (800/1200) effect activates now!" A metal box with legs appeared on his field and lunged over to swallow up Ryu's monster.

"Sestros, I will not allow you to hurt my dragons! Reveal face-down card, Nexus Warp!" A portal appeared in the middle of the field and sucked by Crystallis and Infernus into its swirling mass. "This trap will fuse my two monsters into something that you cannot defeat. A creature with the power to shut down any effects that target it!" An echoing roar came from the portal and a pair of eyes, one red and one blue, appeared from within the vortex. A huge head slowly slithered out of the portal, followed by the snake-like body of the enormous beast that had been created from the fusion of Crystallis and Infernus.

The new monster was made up of both fire and ice, and yet somehow it didn't destroy itself. The two elements that made up its body had somehow found a harmony. "Sestros! Let me be the first to introduce you to Grand Nexus Dragon!!" (2800/2000)

The dragon lifted its head up into the darkness and roared. It looked down at the Torture Machine that was still headed towards it. The Grand Nexus Dragon snorted and with a flick of its tail the metal box was destroyed. "Grand Nexus Dragon cannot be the target of any effects or abilities, so now I have creature that is immune to your horrible Torture Machines!"

The giant fire-ice dragon lifted its head once more and roared. "And, since we are still in the battle phase that means that my monster can attack your life points directly!" Ryu's new monster opened its jaws and it unleashed a torrent of ice-blue and flame-red energy that engulfed the demon.

Ryu- 8000

Giovan- 4700

Giovan slowly came to his feet with rage burning in his eyes. "For that, I will make sure to torture your soul a little before I take over your body." He drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He drew his two and slid one card into his duel disk. "Then I set this. End turn."

Ryu drew and his silver eyes burned in the darkness. "Sestros...you're finished. Grand Nexus Dragon is immune to all target effects, so therefore the only way to win against it is to beat it in battle. And your torture deck strategy, while effective, does not give you very many powerful attackers." He slid one card from his card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down and attack your life points directly!"

The Grand Nexus Dragon howled and sprayed Giovan with another wave of energy.

Ryu- 8000

Giovan- 1900

Giovan drew and laughed deeply. "Jourgen....Ryu...whatever you wish to be called. This is it. You're about to lose your body to me."

Ryu frowned. "Prove it Sestros."

Giovan flipped up his two face-down cards and slid a card into his duel disk. Then he discarded two monsters into the graveyard. "I activate the ritual magic card Anointment of Torture! By sacrificing the two monsters in my hand, I may special summon forth my ultimate monster!" On the field in front of him a spiked cage exploded out of the ground. The cage door creaked as it slid open to reveal a demon covered in spiked chains and holding a whip with a huge metal spike at the end. "My physical avatar has come to kill you Jourgen! Torture King (2800/3000) in attack mode!" The demon cackled insanely, cracking its whip back and forth.

Giovan's fang-filled grin was something to be feared. "For you see I have also activated my Gathering of the Torturous magic card, which allows me to special summon all three of my Torture Machine monster cards from my deck to the field!" There was an explosion in front of him as the hellish forms of his three Torture Machines appeared on the field. "Now I have Torture Machine-Juicer, Torture Machine-Flayer and Torture Machine-Splicer in play!" The three machines screeched and made horrible noises that sounded like screams. "Now I activate my final face-up card, Polymerization!" The three Torture Machines slid in all the same direction, slamming right into the Torture King.

The three machines blew apart and their parts began to attach to the Torture King, changing it and covering it with all forms of torture devices, big and small. When the transformation was complete a much more deadly looking version of the Torture King was in play. "Torture King Reborn (3600/3600) is now on the field. This is the ultimate culmination of my years as a practitioner of the beautiful art of suffering!" The Torture King Reborn released another deep echoing cackle, the sound seeming to feed the darkness around them.

Ryu watched the creature impassively. "Sestros..."

Giovan smirked, waiting for his opponent to say something defiant. ("I love watching people trying to resist the darkness and despair.")

"...you are nothing. You are not even worthy of dueling me. For all of your bluster, you were never a challenge, in this life or the previous. All you were was a petty villain who thought himself supreme. So make your last pathetic move."

Giovan felt his right eye twitching rapidly. "You....you...."

Ryu's silver eyes didn't flinch back in the slightest. "Shut up."

Giovan pointed at Ryu's Grand Nexus Dragon. "DIE!" The Torture King Reborn launched across the field, ready to rip the fire-ice dragon apart.

Ryu's face-down card flipped. "Dragon's Gathering is a trap card with an effect that will end this duel right now. This allows me to choose one dragon sub-type monster from my deck and place it onto the field. Then if there is a fusion between the two creatures, I may create it." His deck spat out the monster and he slapped it onto the disk.

The darkness around them was shattered as the magnificent form of a huge golden armored dragon that crashed down next to the Grand Nexus Dragon. It lifted back its head and cried out, the sound so melodic that Giovan could barely stand it.

Ryu coldly watched as the two creatures on his field fused into one. Their forms melded together, until the final product came into existence before him. "Sestros, the supreme god of dragons has come for you. He wants to fulfill a promise he had made long ago."

The new dragon roared with such force that it blew the Torture King Reborn backwards. It stood 70' from snout to tail-tip, with a wingspan three times as long. It hovered in the air above Ryu, looking for all the world like a god. It looked like the Grand Nexus Dragon, except that it wore the golden armoring of the Grand Emperor Dragon. Its quicksilver-colored eyes glowed with such intensity that Giovan was sure that alone would be enough to kill him.

Ryu looked up at the god dragon and smiled wistfully. "You were stricken down by Rikuo's father before. Face my father now."

Giovan stumbled back. ("The king of the dragon demons...")

Ryu's gaze never left his opponent as he spoke. "This is the monster that even Rikuo wouldn't have deserved. The only person who deserves its true wrath is you." The dragon roared again, the entire temple shaking wildly around them. "Sestros, feel the power of the Dragon God Nexus-Envoy of Divinity!!!" (6000/6000)

The Dragon God looked down at Giovan and let out a low growl that shook the room. Then its gaze went to the Torture King Reborn and it roared in rage. "Looks like he spotted his quarry." It opened its huge maw and a ball of light, ice and fire energy developed within it. "Before my monster attacks, however, I am going to activate its special ability! By sacrificing 1000 life points, I may increase its attack strength by 2000 for one turn." (8000/6000)

Ryu- 7000

Giovan- 1900

Giovan looked at his Torture King, and then he brought his gaze to glare at Ryu. "This is not over! I...will...be....back!"

Ryu matched the Torture King's gaze easily. "Perhaps...but for now, return to the hell that Rikuo placed you in. Dragon God Nexus, attack his Torture King Reborn with Torrential Divine Wave!" The Dragon God unleashed a wave of energy so powerful that not only to it completely obliterate both Giovan and his monster, but it also slammed into the back wall of the chamber and shattered huge hunks of stone. As soon as the dragon finished its attack it roared in victory and then faded away.

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Rikuo walked into his chamber with his sword drawn. He really didn't intend to duel this time. His plan was to kill whoever they put against him, and then move on.

Unfortunately, the ball of darkness that sealed off the other side of the room told him the truth about his predicament. ("I'm going to have to fight to win this. So be it.") He sheathed the Howling Sword and stepped into the darkness, duel disk already clicked into place.

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The first thing that he saw was the black-robed form before him. He smirked and stepped a reasonable distance from his opponent. "Alright, you've got your wish. I'll be your opponent." He smirked enough to show off his fangs. "It's been a while since I've played someone in a duel though, so you had better go easy on me."

The black-cloaked figure threw its cloak aside...

Rikuo's jokes disappeared in an instant. "You..."

Daniel already had his duel disk in place. "When I'm done with you, there won't be anything left but a bad memory. So let's get this duel underway, shall we?"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Yami vs. Hikari


	29. Yami vs Hikari

Disclaimer: STOP ASKING ME!! NOOOO!!! :: Runs off screaming:

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 29: Yami vs. Hikari

_Rikuo's jokes disappeared in an instant. "You..."_

_Daniel already had his duel disk in place. "When I'm done with you, there won't be anything left but a bad memory. So let's get this duel underway, shall we?" _

Rikuo didn't answer his other half. He just continued to stare.

Daniel calmly drew his five. "Is something the matter Rikuo?"

The wolf demon shook his head a few times to clear it. "You could say that." He started to tick the reasons off on his fingers. "One, you're supposed to be captured at the moment. Two, we share the same body, so how is it that you are...well...there..."

Daniel rolled his eyes and drew his sixth. "I was captured, until Envirius freed me. He and I had a little talk that came to a pretty interesting conclusion. Second, I have my own body because this is a darkness game."

Rikuo drew his five on reflex, though he had no intention of dueling his other half in a darkness game if he could avoid it. "Why would you make a deal with the man who is holding your mother as his hostage?"

Daniel's eyes lowered to the ground and he clenched his fists. "My...mother died about eight years ago. It was a plane crash." He brought his attention back to his other half. "And the reason I made a deal with Envirius is because I never wanted any of this!"

The glare he was giving Rikuo bordered somewhere on murderous. "I never wanted to have you in my head. Because of you, now I'm a demon! A DEMON! I don't want it and I never will. That's why the winner of this duel will get possession of our body, while the loser is banished forever. So that way when I win I will become what I used to be. I want to be a human again. Just a normal, everyday human!"

Rikuo snarled, his eyes glowing. "So that's what this is all about!? You're helping this madman because you want your life to go back to how it used to be!? ARE YOU INSANE!?" The wolf demon looked beyond infuriated now. "And to think I came all this way just to rescue you too!" He cracked his knuckles and then picked up his hand. "Just know that I'm not giving up without a fight. If you really want to duel me in this kind of darkness game, then so be it. I won't hold back."

"I'm not expecting you to." Daniel slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down and then..." He placed down a monster, "...I summon Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600) in attack mode!" A red mechanical dragon appeared on his field. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and slid two cards into his disk. "First off, I should let you know that right now you are acting like a spoiled brat more than ever. Secondly, I'm playing Stress of Battle and Spell Economics."

Daniel winced, though not because of the insult. It was because now every time Rikuo played a monster, all of his creatures would lose 500 attack points permanently. And as long as Spell Economics was on the field then Rikuo wouldn't have to pay any life points to use his Stress of Battle card.

At the sight of his other half's wince, Rikuo winced a little himself. Then he remembered that he had risked life and limb to come all this way, just to get betrayed. ("Plus if I beat him, I get to keep this body forever. I won't be part of him anymore.")

Was that what he really wanted though? Did he want to destroy part of himself? "I summon Wolf Demon Soldier (1400/1200) in attack mode!" As the demon pike-wielder appeared on his field, his Stress of Battle card drained Daniel's Y-Dragon Head of some of its attack points. (1000/1600) "Attack now!" The wolf soldier howled and charged, running the steel dragon through with its pike.

Daniel flipped up his face-down card. "I won't lose that easily! Reveal Limiter Removal, which will double the attack of all machine sub-type monsters on my field. As you should know, the only downside is that they die at the end of the turn." The Y-Dragon Head screeched and opened its jaws, unleashing a wave of electrical energy that destroyed Rikuo's Soldier instantly. (2000/1600)

Rikuo- 7400

Daniel- 8000

Rikuo's deck whined and then spat out a card, which he slapped onto his disk. "Oh, how forgetful you are, my little ningen. When Wolf Demon Soldier is destroyed in battle I may special summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) from anywhere to the field!"

There was a flash of light as his physical avatar appeared and howled. "And since another monster just hit the field, your creature loses another 500 attack points." (1500/1600) "Howling Sword!" The Samurai slammed its weapon into the ground and sent a wave of phantom blue-white flame to consume Daniel's metal monster.

Rikuo- 7400

Daniel- 7100

Rikuo snickered at the crestfallen look that has crossed Daniel's face. "Are you starting to realize that while in theory you might be able to beat me and take back your body, in real life such a thing is nowhere near as easy." ("Why do I sound like a villain when I say that? Why do I feel guilty for doing this to him?") "End turn."

Daniel drew and flipped up his other face-down card. "Sacrificial Revival allows me to summon one monster from my graveyard, though it may not attack or defend for me." His Y-Dragon Head formed on the field, and then it instantly exploded. "Now I sacrifice my monster to summon Jinzo!" (2400/1500) The green metal humanoid appeared on his field and chuckled coldly.

Even though Rikuo knew that Daniel had something planned, he couldn't help but whistle in amazement. "You always seem to have him out when you need him."

"And you always seem to get the Wolf Demon Lord out when you need him," Daniel evenly replied.

Rikuo smirked. "True. It's not like it will matter though. By the end of this duel, one of us is going to cease to exist."

Daniel slid his next card into his duel disk. "That will be you, not me. Activate Brain Control, giving me command of your Wolf Demon Lord for a turn." A purple brain appeared on his field and released a wave of mental energy that seized control of the demon, brining it over to his field.

Rikuo looked down at his hand and growled.

Daniel pointed at his other half. "Now Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord, direct attack!" The two monsters released their attacks, blasting the wolf demon back a few feet.

Rikuo- 3600

Daniel- 7100

Daniel nodded. "End turn." The Wolf Demon Lord returned to Rikuo's field.

The ancient spirit glanced at the two monsters on the field. "Why didn't you use it?"

Daniel looked at the Polymerization card in his hand. "I didn't use it because I didn't want my monster to have anything to do with yours. I want nothing more to do with you in general."

Rikuo drew and he fanned out his hand. ("I could win this duel right now. But the card I would have to use...") "Wolf Demon Lord, suicide into Jinzo!" The demon flew across the field and slashed Jinzo in half. In a burst of digital light they both vanished. ("I could have crushed him. Why can't I!? It's not like destroying humans is anything new to me.") He slid two cards into his duel disk. "End turn."

Daniel drew. "You're nothing more than a parasite that changed my body to fit your own needs." He slapped down a monster. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A blue and yellow robot appeared on his field. "Attack his life points directly!" The machine charged up its cannons and fired a blast of energy that rocketed towards the demon.

Rikuo flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Negate Attack will protect me from all attacks this turn." A whirling vortex appeared and absorbed the force of the attack.

Daniel slid two cards into his duel disk. "I'll set these. End turn."

Rikuo drew and slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I'm getting tired of you and your constant complaining. So I'll use Monster Reborn to revive your Jinzo under my control!" The ground beneath him shuddered and the armored form of Jinzo appeared.

Daniel didn't seem bothered by the fact that his favorite monster was about to be used against him. It didn't bother him either that the attack of his X-Head Cannon was dropped. (1300/1500)

Rikuo pointed at the X-Head Cannon. "I never much liked those hunks of steel anyway. Get rid of it Jinzo." The monster cupped its hands together and released a ball of black energy that destroyed the X-Head Cannon and a portion of Daniel's life points.

Rikuo- 3600

Daniel- 6000

"End turn."

Daniel drew and he knew what he had to do. He slid his card into the duel disk. "I play the magic card Monster Reborn, reviving your Wolf Demon Lord under my control!" The ground beneath him exploded and the armored form of the demon samurai rose up. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and chuckled weakly. "Irony is a funny thing. I have your favorite monster under my control and you have my favorite monster under your control. How interesting..."

Daniel didn't think it was very interesting. "I'm going to tear this card up as soon as I get the chance to. Until then though...make your move."

Rikuo knew that he could win this duel right now. ("It's within my power to end this.") He reached his hand down to press the button on his disk. "I'm tired of playing with you Daniel! Reveal face-down card..." His hand was wavering over the button that would trigger his card. ("Dammit...I can't do it.") He drew. "End turn."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at his other half's behavior. "What's the matter Rikuo? Are you starting to forget your strategies?"

Surprisingly, Rikuo didn't seem angry. He seemed more confused than anything else. ("Why can't I end this? It's not like I care about Daniel at all. If I had my way then I'd want nothing to do with him. So why can't I just kill him and move on?")

Daniel drew and frowned. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and he stared at the card. ("Hmm...perhaps I could do something with this. First I'll need to get Jinzo off the field.") He slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate Demonic Sacrifice. Now we must both either sacrifice a monster or half of our life points."

Daniel immediately slid the Wolf Demon Lord into the graveyard, while Rikuo did the same with the Jinzo. "What purpose did that serve Rikuo? Why not just suicide our monsters into each other again?"

Rikuo didn't answer. "I set this face-down. End turn."

Daniel drew and smirked. "I'll wipe you out in just a scarce few turns. Go Wave-Motion Cannon!" A huge green cannon appeared on his field. "This machine will charge up once every turn, giving it a spell counter. I may sacrifice it to deal your 1000 life points per counter at any time during my turn. So until then, enjoy your last few minutes of existing. As soon as this is over with, I'll be free."

"Free of what, Daniel? What is it that you want to be free of?" Rikuo's question rang with a tone that he had never used before with his other half. Honest and complete curiosity.

"I want to be free of you! This isn't my life, it's yours! I...don't...want...THIS!" He punctuated each sentence by throwing his hands up and motioning to the darkness around them. "I don't know what life was like for you, but for me life isn't supposed to be like this. I went to that tournament to find out information about my mother, and then I wind up becoming...you! I'm not your host! I'm your plaything! You're an insensitive jerk who I cannot stand. Yet I can't get rid of you because YOU LIVE IN MY HEAD!!!"

It shouldn't have bothered Rikuo. He shouldn't have cared what Daniel though about him. Yet...

Daniel watched as Rikuo lowered his eyes to the ground. "Is your turn done?" He asked innocently.

"You're not even listening to me, are you? You don't even care!" Daniel slid a card from his hand into his disk. "Yes, my turn is done. So go ahead Rikuo, draw."

Rikuo drew and slowly looked up at his...hikari. "So that's what you think of me? I'm nothing but a parasite, hmm?" His features slowly twisted into anger. "I'm done with you!" He tapped the button on his duel disk that he had avoided before. "I thought about being gentle, and trying to sway you from this insane course you've decided to take, but now I'm done!! Activate Hell Meteor!" The card flipped up and up above Rikuo the sky tore open, revealing a pulsing dimension of fire and darkness. "And before you go and think that you are going to survive it, I reveal the card that means your doom." He slid the card he had drawn into his disk. "Endurance Drain, which doubles the damage of one magic card. Get ready to take 8000 life points of damage!"

Up above the wolf demon's head, a huge ball of red and black flames began to develop, getting larger and larger, until it loomed like a miniature sun over the battlefield. "Daniel...goodbye." The fireball dropped out of the sky, rocketing towards the boy.

Daniel dropped his hand to the ground and fell to his knees. If there was one card that would have disabled him, it would have been the Hell Meteor. ("Not again...the flames...") He clutched his skull and crashed to the stone, quivering in terror. ("Not that place again...no...please...")

Rikuo's fist continued to clench tighter and tighter. ("Well Rikuo, you've done it. You've not only about to succeed in killing a boy and taking his body, but just to make it stick you're using a card that he has a psychological fear of to do it. And for all you know, you probably are going to wind up trapping his soul in that place, where he will be tortured for all eternity...")

His fist clenched tighter and tighter. ("It's not like he doesn't deserve it. He did insult me, even though I came to save him. He has the audacity to tell me off. No one does that and escapes unharmed.")

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_The being within Daniel's ravaged body smiled and bared his fangs once more. "I shall, but only if you tell your master not to involve Daniel's friends and loved ones in his madness. If he wants the boy then come after him directly." When Viper nodded he continued, "As for my name?" His next smile sent fear into Viper's heart. "I am the hunter. I am the wolf. But if you need a name for me then call me...Rikuo."_

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_Daniel growled and drew his card. "You are a fool! Rikuo remembered that it was his fault your family had been killed. He was willing to lose to you."_

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"_I had some time to think about it though and I have decided that you made the correct choice. You are forgiven for now." For Rikuo, that was the best version of an 'I'm sorry' that Daniel was going to get._

_Daniel nursed his ribs and glared at his darker self. "I hate you."_

_Surprisingly, Rikuo smirked proudly. "I know."_

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_All he could feel was the sadness at having failed, and the understanding that he would never see his friends or family again. ("I won't let myself die honor-less though.") He knew that Rikuo must have been rubbing off on him more then the demon would let on._

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_Daniel rolled his eyes and walked over the door that led back into his body. "Whatever you say, Mr. Big bad wolf demon." He tugged the handle and right before he stepped through he said, "And thank you for your help Rikuo." _

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_Daniel returned the growl loudly, startling most of his class. He leapt up out of his chair and grabbed his backpack. "Fine Rikuo! I'll deal with the entire situation myself!!" _

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_("Rikuo?")_

_**("What the hell do you want, ningen?")**_

_("Save my mother, and kill the Shadow Corporation bastard that dared to threaten her.")_

_**(".........Fine.")**_

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_Rikuo opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see a prison for his soul. Instead, he still sat in the forest. Jasmine was gone. ("Daniel, are you alright?")_

_When silence was his answer, Rikuo felt very cold. ("Daniel!?") Still there was no answer. He hesitantly reached out with his mind to connect to Daniel's thoughts._

_All he found was a single, lingering mote of light. As he brushed it vanished, leaving behind a message**. ("Rikuo...save my mother. Watch your temper. Help the others. Get me back......")**_

_Rikuo returned to his mind to feel tears drip down his face. ("He paid for my mistake....") His head lowered to the ground, and then snapped up as he howled into the night sky._

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Rikuo's mind slipped back to the present, all of the memories flashing by at impossible speed. He felt the tears on his cheeks, and he understood what he had done wrong. After all of this time, he knew why he had reborn within the boy's body.

("He is the true wolf demon lord...I was supposed to protect him. Yet I have just sentenced him to death.") The Hell Meteor was getting closer now, the heat so intense that the cowering Daniel somehow managed to sink lower to the floor in an attempt to escape it.

Rikuo looked at his face-down card. ("So be it.") "Reveal face-down card, Spirit Mirror! This allows me to select one magic card that is targeting a player and switch its target!" A huge hand mirror appeared and caught the Hell Meteor, holding the huge fireball suspended in the air.

Daniel felt the Meteor stop, and he looked up slowly, his eyes red and his face still pale. "Rikuo?"

The wolf demon looked at the ground instead of his hikari. "I've failed in my duty. I've lost my honor. Daniel, don't let them do whatever they want. That's all I ask of you." He raised his voice enough for the voice recognition system of the duel disk. "I am redirecting the Hell Meteor at myself!" The mirror shuddered and then exploded, the blast launching the fireball towards Rikuo now.

Daniel watched through blurry eyes as his other half was about to be barbecued by the very Hell Meteor that had been about to consume him. ("Rikuo?")

Rikuo smiled sadly. "Later." And then he was engulfed by the Hell Meteor.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Balance

Author's Notes: To Gryphinwyrm7: The Legendary Weapon Card of the Snake Lord will be shown to you, just not in this arc. Keep in mind that I'm working on setting up a plot for the next arc. Sorry, I can't spoil the surprise by telling you what the Weapon Card does.


	30. Balance

Disclaimer: Yugioh...is...not...mine....Bleah!

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 30: Balance

Envirius yawned and shifted from his resting position against the wall of the chamber that housed the darkness ball where Rikuo and Daniel were dueling. The dark-suited man chuckled at the thought of Rikuo getting destroyed by his own host. ("It's the ironies that I love so much.") The greatest part of all of it was that Pilkington was doing it willingly.

In front of him stood the darkness sphere, which was currently pulsing and shivering rapidly. ("It looks like the duel between the two of them will be over soon. Now let's see which one of them emerged the winner.")

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_He raised his voice enough for the voice recognition system of the duel disk. "I am redirecting the Hell Meteor at myself!" The mirror shuddered and then exploded, the blast launching the fireball towards Rikuo now._

_Daniel watched through blurry eyes as his other half was about to be barbecued by the very Hell Meteor that had been about to consume him. ("Rikuo?")_

_Rikuo smiled sadly. "Later." And then he was engulfed by the Hell Meteor._

Daniel watched the pulsing flame in front of him, amazement painted across his face. Why was Rikuo doing this? What purpose did it serve? ("He's going to obliterate himself for me...")

The boy looked at his face-down card. ("Rikuo...I should just let you burn.") What would that make him though? It wouldn't really solve anything, except that he would be killing part of himself.

"I won't let you sacrifice yourself, Rikuo. You're not going to become a martyr for my madness..." His face-down card flipped up. "Reveal face-down card, Gambit of Life! Using its effect, I'll sacrifice 6000 life points so that in three turns I'll gain 12000 life points!" Bracing himself, Daniel felt the pull of the trap card on his body as his life was drained.

Rikuo- 0

Daniel- 0

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Rikuo felt the flames of the Hell Meteor burning at his skin. ("So this is how I am going to truly die? Being consumed by the power of a card? How stupidly funny...")

Yet, just as quickly as the flames had begun to burn him, they stopped. The red and black flames disappeared, leaving him in the darkness sphere once more. In front of him, Daniel has his eyes to the ground and was on his knees.

Rikuo understood what had happened when he looked at the life point counter on the duel disk. "So that's it..."

Daniel braced himself, getting ready to either be physically smacked around or verbally abused for his insane behavior.

Rikuo did neither though. He broke down into helpless laughter.

Daniel stared at his other half. "How...how...can you laugh at this? You were going to be destroyed."

The wolf demon walked over to his hikari, helping the drained boy to his feet. "I can laugh because it's funny that you decided to save me." He smiled and patted Daniel on the shoulder. "You've done well, Daniel."

"..........." Daniel stared at Rikuo like the wolf demon had just lost his mind. "Are you feeling okay? I mean...you don't want to kill me?"

Rikuo sat down on the ground and shook his head. "Quite the contrary. I'm amazed that you decided to change your mind." He looked up at his other half quizzically. "By the way, why the sudden change of heart?"

Daniel sighed and sat down next to his demon. "Well...I'm not sure." He put his head in his hands and frowned. "I should just want you dead, but despite the anger I felt towards you, I just couldn't bring myself to let you destroy yourself."

Rikuo snickered. "Do you even realize yet that I'm not the reason you are a half-demon? I mean, does Yami tan Yugi's skin when they switch bodies? Of course not."

"What are you getting at?"

The ancient wolf demon rolled his eyes. "I figured out a while ago that you are my..." He did a few math equations in his head, and then realized he didn't know how to do math. "Err...let's just say I'm an ancestor of yours."

Daniel frowned. "So even if you were gone, I wouldn't be able to become human again?"

Rikuo muttered something about 'idiot' and then brought his face a few inches from Daniel's. "Listen to me! You....are....a....natural....demon!"

It took a few seconds for that information to digest, but when it did Daniel looked down at the ground and sighed. "So I can't get away from it?" His voice was so meek that Rikuo knew he had to be gentle with this next part.

"No, you can't. That doesn't mean anything though. You're still you and you will always be you. I didn't ever mean to treat you like I did before." He felt Daniel's emotions through their link and he did something that he knew he was going to regret later.

He wrapped his arms around his hikari and comforted him while Daniel sobbed at the fact that all of his efforts to become a human were pointless, because he never was one in the first place.

Eventually, Daniel had gotten all of it out of his system. He understood now that this was a fate that he couldn't change. ("I'm a demon...whether I want to admit it or not.")

_("That's right, you are. Why is that such a bad thing?")_ Rikuo slid back from his other half. _("Do you really hate it that much?")_

("No, but I don't want to have my life chosen for me. Also, I'm a demon, a monster...I don't want that. I'm not even cut out for it.") Daniel curled his legs to his chest. "I assume you want to control our body for the rest of this conflict?"

"No." Rikuo knew exactly what the best method for helping his hikari through this was. "Not exactly. We're a team, whether you wish to believe it or not." He touched his claw to Daniel's shoulder.

Daniel felt a momentary pain as he was placed back within his own body, but then he felt something that he hadn't felt for the last few days. He felt the confidence to go on.

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Envirius tapped his foot impatiently as he watched the sphere. "Come on...the end of the world won't wait forever. Finish killing each other!"

In response, the darkness sphere shivered once more and then began to dissipate.

When Envirius saw a wolf-eared outline in the fading blackness, he frowned. ("So Daniel lost hmm? That's too bad.")

He applauded the wolf demon, whose eyes were closed and looking to the ground. In his hands rested the Howling Sword, the weapon life-less. "Congratulations Rikuo. I assume you beheaded him, or something of the like, for betraying you like he did. I hope you enjoyed my little surprise."

The voice that came from the demon's mouth was one tinged with calm. "Envirius...you got my hopes up...you made me believe that I could escape from the madness that I was placed into. You made me think that my heritage was a curse."

The wolf demon lifted his eyes to reveal a pair of dark brown irises. "For that...." His voice grew deeper and the Howling Sword exploded into phantom flames. His irises shimmered, though only one of them turned golden-amber. "...you must pay!" His voice had become an overlap of both Rikuo and Daniel's voices.

Envirius took a couple of healthy steps back, ready to fade into the shadows if he had to. "What in the hell is this? Are you Daniel or Rikuo?"

The being lifted the sword up, his different-colored eyes gleaming in the light. "Your attempts to destroy us failed. Now our purpose is clear. We will defeat you, and then we'll extract our fee from your corpse." He smiled enough to reveal his fangs. "I am both Daniel and Rikuo, and yet I am neither."

Envirius spat upon the stone floor. "How disappointing. I had so looked forward to seeing one of you gone. Oh well, see you inside." He threw the two become one a wink and then faded away.

Rikuo/Daniel growled and sheathed their sword. ("He won't get away.")

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The eight duelists all entered into the final chamber of the temple at nearly the same time.

The chamber before them was impossibly big. Its ceiling was at least a mile away, far out of immediate sight. The whole room was circular-shaped and lined with torches that illuminated the room in a weak orange light. Inlaid in the floor of the cavern were lines of dark crystal that pulsed with energy, like they were the veins of some creature of unbelievable size.

The thing that truly made the area stand out was the giant crystal pillar that took of the center of the room. It was the same black color as the veins that led to it, and it pulsed with a power all its own. From within its abyssal surface, purple and black energy swirled around each other as if they were dancing.

"There is a mighty demon dragoness known as Yamidra. She is by far the most powerful of beings in the known universe, and yet at the same time she is the weakest. For she exists in a plane of nothing but nightmares and shadows. Some call this place the shadow realm; some call it the plane of darkness. I like to think of it as the Abyss, myself."

Entirius turned to face his eight guests. He was standing in front of the giant black crystal pillar, with a silver and black duel disk attached to his arm. "This is the place that separates our world from the Abyss. The pillar that stands behind me is the door. And you..." He lifted his hand to point at all eight of them, "...are the keys to that door."

Yami stepped forward, the Eye of Ra glowing faintly on his forehead. He could feel the intense magic in this place, and it frightened him. ("Such incredible power and all of it is coming from that crystal pillar.") "What are you talking about? The shadow realm does not possess a physical gateway."

"You're partially correct. Behind me is the not a gate to the Abyss itself, but to the place where Yamidra rests." Envirius looked up at the pillar's center, where a black void was beginning to develop. "My family has been around for over ten millennia. We created the Legendary Weapons, and we gave them to the twelve demon lords." He brought his gaze down to the eight again. "And now I need those weapons to open the gateway."

Ryu stepped up next to Yami. "We'll never help you."

Envirius didn't seem particularly angry. "You already did. The purpose of the Seal of Dark Souls is not to steal the souls of people, but it was to gather the power that the twelve legendary weapons emitted." He held up a small stack of cards. Fanning them out, he showed that they were all Seal of Dark Souls Cards. "Understand now? I'm not after your souls. I just wanted the power of your weapons. Even the tiniest bit of power was enough."

He ran a fingertip along the top of one card. "I had already collected the power of seven of the cards. I just needed the remaining five. Could you imagine my surprise when I found out that the demon that destroyed Giovan Garlin possessed one? And then there were his friends, each of which possessed a weapon as well?" He snapped his hand and the fan of Seal cards slid together. "It was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

Deondre stepped forward next. "Alright, so why call Yugi and his friends here? What purpose do they serve in your sick little plans?"

"Ah yes, why did I summon the Pharaoh to this place? I summoned him here because I wanted to make sure that all threats to Yamidra's power were destroyed in one fell swoop." He looked back at the black void in the crystal pillar with a smile on his face. "Soon Yamidra will shatter the barrier between the Abyss and this world. When he does, it will be such a beautiful sight, don't you think?"

Rikuo/Daniel was next, his one golden-amber and one brown eye glaring at the dark-suited man's back. "No it won't. Your plan won't work."

"Oh really? You intend to stop me?" Envirius casually tossed the stack of Seal cards into the void. "Oops, too late."

The black pillar rumbled and the void in its surface expanded, until a perfectly circular hole had formed. The darkness within the portal pulsed angrily, as if enraged at the fact that it was being summoned.

Rikuo/Daniel growled and drew the Howling Sword. "There's still one downside to your plan. If we defeat Yamidra, then it won't matter that she is free."

Envirius smiled a little at that idea. "So you wish to challenge the mistress of the realm of darkness to a darkness game? You're biting off more than you can chew, little wolf."

Deondre stepped forward, along with CJ, Siegfried, and Ryu. "He won't be fighting alone."

Siegfried nodded. "This is our battle as well."

CJ cracked his knuckles. "We'll crush this Yamidra and then we'll crush you."

Ryu frowned. He knew the name Yamidra well, and he didn't think anyone could defeat a force of darkness that powerful. ("But that doesn't mean that we cannot at least try to defeat her.") "We will stand together against Yamidra."

Envirius closed his eyes for a few seconds, and his smile got a little bigger. "Interesting. It looks like Yamidra accepts your challenge. Since none of your could possibly hope to defeat her in physical combat, she has decided to give you a sporting chance. If all five of you can defeat her in a duel, then she will seal away her side of the gate."

Yami looked intently at the black void. "I will duel as well."

Envirius shook his head. "That's not an option Pharaoh. I'll be your opponent." He pointed at Joey and Kaiba, who had both planned on staying out of this conflict, for differing reasons. "I also challenge them as well."

Joey walked to stand next to his friend. "Don't worry Yug, we can't lose to this guy."

Kaiba snorted and didn't move from his spot. "Yeah right, like I would have any incentive to work with those two."

Envirius shrugged. "So you don't want to see your brother ever again?"

Kaiba knew he couldn't argue against that. Walking to stand next to Yami, he muttered, "This is only for my brother, so stay out of my way."

The Pharaoh ignored Kaiba's idle threat.

The void screamed and spat out a cloud of darkness that engulfed Rikuo/Daniel, CJ, Ryu, Deondre and Siegfried. It held itself in place for a moment, and then it withdrew into the void. They were gone.

Yami clicked his duel disk into place, while Joey and Kaiba took their places on both sides of him. "Alright Envirius, let's get this game over with."

Envirius clicked his duel disk into place and yawned. "I agree. I'd much prefer to watch Yamidra completely obliterate your five friends all at once, then be stuck here destroying the three of you."

Joey's duel disk clicked into place. "You might want to check your ego at the door. If you haven't noticed, it's three on one. The odds aren't in your favor."

Kaiba clicked his duel disk into place. "This is one of the few times that the Mutt is right. You're out of your league."

Envirius drew his five and smiled calmly. "I'm afraid you're wrong Seto. The three of you have no idea what you are in for."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Dueling the Darkness

Author's Notes: To john: They always say 'I'll be back' because it's just what they do. Especially the annoying bad guys that never want to just go away.

In response to a few of your reviews: Cliché? Well I'm sorry if I being a little cliché with some of this stuff. I for one don't mind cliché, if used properly. Plus, what exactly am I supposed to use instead?

I thought it was interesting to have Siegfried duel Crystal, because if he had taken on anyone else, then he wouldn't have had anywhere near the incentive he does now to destroy Envirius. As for Daniel and Rikuo, you have to admit, that is a pretty un-cliché situation.

These are my opinions. If you dislike them, then please let me know in your reviews. I'm sorry if I came off as nasty or disrespectful to any of you, but these are the kinds of plots I like. Alright, no more ranting on my part. Later.


	31. Dueling the Darkness

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 31: Dueling the Darkness

The mist cleared to show the five demons nothing. They were all standing in an endless void of black.

CJ scratched the back of his head and then looked over at Ryu. "So...where's Yamidra?"

The darkness began to form around then, creating spires and pillars. Within a matter of minutes the five were no longer standing in a void, but in a huge courtyard. In front of them there was a giant castle.

"This is certainly a cheery place," Siegfried muttered sarcastically.

Deondre nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'd think they might want to put some extra lighting in. I mean, it's so dark out here that if we weren't demons, we probably wouldn't be able to see right now."

"That's the way I like it. I hate the light." A cold voice said from the entrance to the castle.

The five turned to find themselves facing a woman who looked to be about twenty years old. She was short, with black hair, eyes and lips. Her body was clothed in black robes that concealed her figure from view. "Greetings demon lords. I am Yamidra, mistress of this place." Her features remained cold as she talked. "Shall we begin this duel? I'd prefer to end it quickly so that I can go and enjoy tearing your world apart."

Rikuo/Daniel frowned and clicked their duel disk into place. "You won't be doing anything of the sort. We'll stop you."

Yamidra had yet to move from her position. "Well? Are the rest of you going to help him?"

Ryu narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to duel all five of you at once."

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Envirius drew and smirked at his three opponents. "Now, can you defeat me?" He popped open his field magic card slot. "First, the Seal of Dark Souls." All around them a dark black and grey mist developed as the field of negative energy locked them into the duel.

"Now I'll summon Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth (0/3000) in defense mode!" A dark mass of shadowy material appeared on his field and formed into a shape resembling a shield. "Then I set these two cards face-down. End turn." The two cards appeared in front of him.

Joey drew and smiled to Yami. "We'll get past that with no problem. First, I'll set two cards face-down on the field." The two brown-back cards appeared in front of him on the field. "And then I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Yami drew and threw down his monster. "I summon Queen's Knight (1500/1600) in defense mode!" A woman in knight's armor appeared on his field in a crouching position. "Then I play the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!" Green swords of light slammed down on Envirius's field. "Now you cannot attack either me or my teammates for three turns. End turn."

Kaiba drew and set a monster. ("I hate dueling on teams.") "End turn."

Envirius drew and smirked. "Ah Yami, you're trying to summon your Egyptian God Cards, I assume?"

The ancient ruler returned the smirk, confident that as long as he had his partners with him, he would be safe. "Of course. We'll win this duel and then seal your side of the gateway."

Envirius slid three cards into his duel disk. "I'm not going to let you make a fool of me. Activate three-card combo: Confiscation, Forked Magic and Grand Divination! First, I must pay 1000 life points for the effect of my Confiscation magic card, which allows me to look at one player's hand and discard a card from it. But thanks to Forked Magic, I may target all of you at once with this effect!"

Joey- 8000/8000

Yami- 8000/8000

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Envirius- 7000/8000

Yami looked at the face-up Grand Divination card. "And what's that going to do?"

Envirius walked up to Joey first. The blond-haired duelist sighed and turned his hand around to show it to him. "Impressive starting hand Joseph. Toss the Monster Reborn."

Next he walked up to Yami. "Pharaoh, get rid of your Saint Dragon Osiris."

Finally he walked up to Kaiba. "As for you Seto, get rid of your Monster Reborn as well."

Envirius returned to his position on the field with a smile on his face. "That was fulfilling. Nothing better than discarding cards from my opponents' hands."

Kaiba just fixed an icy glare on the man. "And your Grand Divination card?"

Envirius looked at it and he laughed. "Oh yes, well you see it lets me look at the cards you draw each turn, and all it costs me is a trifle 300 life points per turn. End turn."

Joey drew and held out the card. "I drew Swordsman of Landstar." (500/1200)

Envirius smirked wider as his face-down card flipped up. "Activate Sniper's Sight! This allows me, at the cost of 1000 life points; to destroy any monster card my opponent draws into his hand!" The face-up card shuddered and spat out a beam of red light that blew the card out of Joey's hand.

Joey- 8000/8000

Yami- 8000/8000

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Envirius- 6000/8000

Joey looked down at his hand and frowned at the prospects of the lock his opponent had. ("As long as he's got his card combo out, he'll just blast every monster I draw out of my hand.") "I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon The Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200) in attack mode!" A yellow armored monster appeared on his field. "Now attack his life points directly!" The monster howled and charged across the field, ready to tackle Envirius.

"You think you're going to catch me with my pants down Joey!? Think again!" Envirius flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal Gravity Bind! This will prevent all level four or higher monsters from attacking at all! Besides, did you forget about my Supreme Dark Soul?"

Joey winced as he realized that his opponent did have a monster on the field. "Well could ya highlight it or something!? I can't see it! It's camouflaged!"

Yami drew. "I draw Obelisk the Tormentor!" (4000/4000) He watched as the Sniper's Sight blew the card out of his hand.

Joey- 8000/8000

Yami- 8000/8000

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Envirius- 5000/8000

The Pharaoh fanned out his hand and then played his next monster. "I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) in defense mode." A grey monster made of magnets appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and he gritted his teeth. "I drew the Blue-Eyes White Dragon." (3000/2500) He felt a stinging in his heart as he watched the red beam of light from the Sniper's Sight card blast his favorite monster away before it ever got a chance to see play.

Joey- 8000/8000

Yami- 8000/8000

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Envirius- 4000/8000

The CEO looked his hand over and then slid his face-down monster into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my face-down monster to set another monster face-down. Then I set a card face-down. End turn."

Joey- 8000/8000

Yami- 8000/8000

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Envirius- 3700/8000

Envirius drew and he slid the card into his duel disk. "I play Spell Economics, which means that I don't have to pay any life points for my magic cards. So Sniper's Sight and Grand Divination now gives me the perfect monster killing combo. Plus, as long as Gravity Bind remains in play, you cannot attack with the monsters in your hand. And even if you do, I've still got my Supreme Dark Soul in play, which has 3000 defense points. More or less, you are locked out. End turn."

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Rikuo/Daniel stared at the 'woman' like she had lost her mind. "All five of us...against you?"

Yamidra continued to watch the five evenly. "Did I mumble? All five of you."

CJ shrugged and stood next to Rikuo/Daniel, his duel disk clicking into place. "I didn't know you had a death wish. If that is what you want though, I've got no problem with it."

Ryu went over to stand on the wolf demon's other side. "I know you are up to something, but for now I'll play by your insane rules." He clicked his duel disk into place.

Deondre went over to take Ryu's other side, his disk already in place. "I hope you don't expect to defeat us. Five on one are horrible odds for you."

Siegfried went over to stand next to CJ, his duel disk the last into place. "Yamidra, I think you're putting far too much faith in the idea that you are supposedly all-powerful."

Yamidra actually let the beginnings of a smile cross her face at what Siegfried had said. "If that is what you truly believe, then you are hardly worthy of my time or effort. So let's get this duel over with, so that I can move onto your plane of existence and destroy it. It's been far too long since I've had a chance to play in your world." She waved her hand into the air and five cards, each as large as she was, appeared in the air. "I'll even do you all a favor and go first, so that you can attack me immediately."

Rikuo/Daniel frowned as they felt their soul split into its original halves. Rikuo shook his head out at he felt one of his eyes change from brown to golden-amber. ("I feel rather uneasy dueling against this being. It's easy to tell that she is very powerful.")

_("We've got the advantage of numbers though.")_

Daniel's thought didn't reassure the wolf demon though.

Yamidra waved her hand in the air and above her first five cards, another five appeared. "I draw. Then I set five cards face-down." Five of the ten cards floated to the ground, each one blocked off with shadows so that the five couldn't see what they were. "Then I set five monsters face-down on my field." Her other five cards shuddered and all landed on the field in front of her five set cards, each of the brown-backed cards in a horizontal position. "End turn."

Siegfried drew and slid a card into his disk. "I hope you didn't intend to stop us with your face-down trap cards, because I have an answer for that! Go Heavy Storm!" He smiled at the cheers his friends were giving him. Meanwhile, a heavy wind was picking up on the field.

Yamidra motioned to one of her face-down cards and it flipped up. "I would say I'm impressed, but then I would be lying. Reveal Imperial Order." Her trap flipped up and a man in a king's robe appeared on her field. He lifted up his hand and the wind instantly died down. "As long as this continuous trap remains in play all magic cards played will be negated. All it costs me is a measly 700 life points each turn to keep in effect." Throughout her explanation, she still remained cold and emotionless.

Siegfried looked down at his hand and hoped his partners had something to help with this situation. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

CJ drew and slid three cards into his duel disk. "I'll set these three cards face-down on my field." He grabbed a monster from his hand and slapped it onto his disk. "Now I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode." A battle-axe wielding Minotaur appeared on his field. "End turn." He knew that if he attacked now, he might trigger one of her trap cards.

Rikuo drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "First I set this face-down." Weighing his monster options, the demon finally made his choice. "Then I summon Quicksilver Orb (0/0) in defense mode." A little metal ball appeared on his field. "End turn."

Ryu drew and slid a pair of cards into his disk. "I'll set two cards face-down on my field, and then I set this monster face-down. End turn."

Deondre drew and placed down his monster. "It's time to get rid of your Imperial Order, Yamidra! I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1900/1000) in attack mode!" A crimson-armored mage appeared on his field. "When he comes into play he gets a spell counter on him, which gives him 300 extra attack points. However, I may sacrifice this counter to destroy one magic or trap card on your field." Breaker's sword began to glow a bright white color. "Breaker..." A black hole opened underneath the spellcaster's feet and he was sucked down into it, taken away before he could activate his effect. "...never mind."

Yamidra calmly watched as her trap card faded off the field. "My Shadow Pit Trap allows me to seize control of your monster permanently. That's not all though, for I also add 300 to his attack points." The black hole that sucked in Breaker opened up next to her and spat out the spellcaster, who was now wearing shadow-grey armor instead of crimson. (2200/1000) Out on her field, one of her face-down monsters exploded as her new Breaker took its place on the field.

Deondre slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these face-down and end my turn."

Yamidra waved with her hand and five cards appeared in front of her. "I draw. Then I will pay 700 life points to keep Imperial Order in effect."

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 8000

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 39300

The dark dragoness flipped up one of her face-down cards. "Now I reveal the trap card Instantaneous Magic, which will make my next magic card impossible to counter or negate." One of her five floating cards flipped over. "Then I activate the ritual magic card Shadowed Awakening. This card requires that I sacrifice five monsters." Her four face-down monster cards and Deondre's Breaker the Magical Warrior were all destroyed.

The ground in the center of her monster field cracked. Slowly the crack got wider and wider, until it filled up her entire monster field. A huge, shadow-covered form emerged from the hole in the earth and it rose higher and higher into the air until it towered over the five duelists. It slowly lowered its head and howled, the sound shaking the false stone around them. The shadows around its body faded away to reveal a huge black dragon, its red eyes glaring down at the five demons. From somewhere behind it, Yamidra's voice could be heard. "Say hello to one of my weaker monsters, Shadow Dragon Gioelat (5000/5000) in attack mode. Gioelat, show our guests what you do to those that oppose us. Darkness Divinity blast!" The dragon opened its jaws and brought its head to face Deondre, since he had no monsters on his field. The monster roared loudly and began to charge up a huge ball of black lightning within its jaws.

Deondre flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal trap card, Dimensional Warp! This will remove your monster from the field for one turn!" The trap shuddered and then exploded. "Huh?"

Yamidra's voice could somehow still be heard over the crackling of her dragon's attack. "Did I forget to mention that my monster is immune to trap cards? Silly me. Attack." The dragon fired its attack, intent of completely destroying Deondre right then and there.

And without the power to use his traps, all he could do was watch as the ball of lightning headed straight for his head.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Just a little monster

Author's Notes: Ahem, I'd like to apologize once more if I came off as angry because of my last A.N. I know that I said I liked any criticism, and I do. I will defend myself however.

Alright, so now we're in the huge duel between the five present demon lords and Yamidra. Obviously she's tough, if she is able to take on all five of them at once. So can they win? And can Yami, Kaiba, and Joey defeat Envirius and his monster killing strategy? Let me know if you have any card suggestions for either Yamidra's or Envirius's decks, since I'm winging most of their really good cards.

Please read and review. I'm gonna go get to work on the next episode. By the way, expect for these two duels to take a few chapters, but I promise I'll make each chapter good. Later.


	32. Just a little monster

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 32: Just a little monster

_Envirius drew and he slid the card into his duel disk. "I play Spell Economics, which means that I don't have to pay any life points for my magic cards. So Sniper's Sight and Grand Divination now gives me the perfect monster killing combo. Plus, as long as Gravity Bind remains in play, you cannot attack with the monsters in your hand. And even if you do, I've still got my Supreme Dark Soul in play, which has 3000 defense points. More or less, you are locked out. End turn."_

Joey drew and sighed. "I drew Jinzo." (2400/1500) Envirius's Sniper's Sight magic card fired a beam of red light that blew the card out of his hand. Staring down at his remaining card, Joey knew he was in trouble. "End turn."

Yugi drew and sighed in relief. "I drew Monster Reborn, which you can't shoot out of my hand with your Sniper's Sight magic card." He slid the card into his hand and slapped down another monster. "Now I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600) in defense mode!" A yellow monster made of magnets appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and he grimaced. "I drew Vorse Raider." (1900/1200) He didn't even pay the red beam that blew the card out of his hand any mind. ("I can't lose my cool. Eventually Envirius will slip up, and when he does, I'll be ready to capitalize on his mistake.") "I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Envirius drew and he chuckled. "That's the end of all of you." He slid the card into his duel disk. "Go Dagger of Butterflies-Elma!" A pair of light-weight and ornate daggers appeared over his monster. "Go infinite soul drain combo!"

Yami tapped a button on his duel disk and flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Not so fast Envirius! Reveal face-down card, Collected Power! This will steal your Dagger and transfer it to my Queen's Knight!" The pair of daggers launched across the field and landed in the female knight's hand. (1800/1600)

The dark-suited man frowned at the loss of his instant win. "That was well-played. End turn."

Joey drew and dead-panned. "Oh great, Gilford the Lightning." (2800/1400) The card immediately was shot out of his hand. ("I still can't do anything! ARGH!!") "End turn."

Yami drew and the card was shot out of his hand. "I had drawn Gamma the Magnet Warrior." (1500/1800) He looked his hand over and sighed. "End turn."

Kaiba drew. "I have drawn Ring of Destruction." He slid it into his disk. "And since everyone knows what it is, I may as well put it out. You never know when I might get lucky enough to use it." He emphasized the last part, making sure he was looking over at Yami.

The Pharaoh nodded. He understood what Kaiba wanted. ("He can use his Ring of Destruction to break down Envirius's defender. So if either I or Joey can get a monster on the field that can attack Envirius, then we can win.")

Kaiba slid his two face-down monsters into the graveyard. "Now I sacrifice my two monsters to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode." The huge white form of the CEO's favorite monster landed on the field and roared as Envirius's Gravity Bind pressed it into the ground.

Envirius drew and then smirked at Yami. "You understand that all I have to do is destroy your Queen's Knight and then I will get my Dagger back. The very second it returns to me, you'll be finished. All of you will. Until then, I'll set this face-down and end my turn." He slid the card into his duel disk.

Joey drew. "Finally, something your dumb combo can't kill. I drew Giant Trunade." He slid the card into his hand and nodded to Yami. "I'll save this for when we need it. End turn."

Yami drew and bit his lower lip. "The Winged Dragon of Ra." (0/0) He watched as his last god card was sent graveyard-bound. Yami looked down at his hand and the Monster Reborn that sat in it. ("This is bad. If only Egyptian God cards were able to be affected by traps. Then I could reborn Obelisk and Kaiba could use his Ring of Destruction on it.") "End turn."

Kaiba drew. "Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End." (3000/2500) The card was instantly shot out of his hand. "End turn."

Envirius drew and looked at the field. ("Now that Kaiba has his Ring of Destruction on the field, I must make sure that they don't get a creature out with an attack power of 3700 or more. If they do, then I'm finished.") "I can't use this card, so end turn."

Joey looked down at his deck. ("Alright, how about something nice that we can combo with the Giant Trunade you gave me?") He drew and sighed. "Alligator's Sword." (1500/1200) The card was shot out of his hand, but he really didn't care anymore. "End turn."

Yami drew and his smile widened. "I drew the magic card Dark Magic Attack. End turn."

Kaiba drew and he slid the card into his duel disk. "You're out of luck Envirius. I set Barrel Behind the Door face-down. When I end my turn I'm going to activate Ring of Destruction and it in combo, dealing you 6000 life points of damage by blowing up my Blue-Eyes White Dragon. End..."

Envirius tapped a button on his duel disk. "Go Mystical Space Typhoon! I'll destroy your face-down Barrel Behind the Door." A sharp wind launched across the field and shattered Kaiba's face-down trap card.

The CEO clenched his fist and fumed quietly. "End turn."

Envirius drew and slid his new card into his duel disk. "One card face-down. End turn. And by the way Yami, as soon as Joey's turn comes around my card will get my Dagger back. End turn."

Before Joey could even draw, Envirius flipped up the card he had set. "Go my Collected Power! This means that I'm taking back my Dagger of Butterflies!" The small pair of daggers was stolen from the Queen's Knight and sent back to hover over the Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth. (300/3000)

Joey glared at his deck as the Axe Raider (1700/1150) that he drew was blown out of his hand. ("What do you have against me!?") "End turn."

Yami took a deep breath and placed his hand on his deck. ("I need a way to steal back the Dagger of Butterflies-Elma from Envirius before it's his turn, or else he will destroy us with his infinite soul drain combo.")

"It's my turn, and here's the draw that will steal your Dagger!!" He drew off the top of his deck, holding the card up in the air. He slowly brought it down to eye level, and smiled. "In fact, not only will I be stealing your Dagger of Butterflies-Elma back, but I'll also be stealing your monster as well. Go Snatch Steal!" A huge burlap sack appeared over the Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth and scooped it up. The bag moved over to Yami's field and deposited the monster on his field. "End turn."

Kaiba knew that while they may have had Envirius's monster, that didn't mean anything. They couldn't use its ability, because the dagger would go back to Envirius when the Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth destroyed it. "I draw Shrink. End turn."

Envirius drew and he snickered. "I'm tired of playing defensively. First I'll gain 1000 life points thanks to your Snatch Steal, Pharaoh."

Joey- 8000/8000

Yami- 8000/8000

Kaiba- 8000/8000

Envirius- 4700/8000

The dark-suited business-man raised his hand up into the air. "Hear me, Seal of Dark Souls! I sacrifice my 500 attack point bonus to summon forth the almighty monster Dark Soul Fiend!" The darkness of the seal began to concentrate itself on his field, where a vaguely humanoid shape could be seen. Finally the shape got enough form that it now looked like a demon with a black whip. (0/0)

"Now its special ability is activated. Destroy all monsters on the field!" The demon howled and snapped its whip in one huge arc, shattering all the monsters on the field.

Envirius snickered and slid his Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth into his graveyard. Then he slid his Dagger of Butterflies-Elma out of his disk and placed it into his hand. "And now I'll give my monster the boost it needs, by simply discarding this." He took one of the cards in his hand and slid them into his graveyard slot. "This will raise my monster's attack strength by 1000 points." (1000/1000) The demon howled and grew in size, brandishing its whip. "Now attack Yami!" The monster leapt across the field, ready to attack the Pharaoh.

Kaiba knew he was going to regret this, but that monster had the potential to get to a size where they couldn't stop it, so he had no choice. "I flip up my Ring of Destruction, destroying your monster and draining its attack points in damage from all of us!" A metal ring lined with grenades appeared around the Fiend's neck and exploded, spraying all four duelists with dust and smoke.

Joey- 7000/7000

Yami- 7000/7000

Kaiba- 7000/7000

Envirius- 1700/7000

Envirius's laughter echoed across the huge chamber. "And that's it. You're all finished." The smoke around him settled to reveal him showing them his two cards. "Monster Reborn and my Dagger of Butterflies-Elma." He slid the Monster Reborn into his duel disk. "I revive Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth to the field!" The shadow shield appeared on his field. "And now I activate my Dagger!" The pair of ornate daggers appeared over the shield. (300/3000)

Yami felt his face break out into a cold sweat. ("No...I can't stop him this time.")

Kaiba didn't look much more pleased either.

Envirius smiled and pointed to his monster. "Good-bye. Activate infinite soul drain combo!"

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_Yamidra's voice could somehow still be heard over the crackling of her dragon's attack. "Did I forget to mention that my monster is immune to trap cards? Silly me. Attack." The dragon fired its attack, intent of completely destroying Deondre right then and there._

_And without the power to use his traps, all he could do was watch as the ball of lightning headed straight for his head._

He braced himself for the pain of the attack hitting him, but it never came.

"I throw my face-down monster in the way of the attack!" Ryu's face-down monster card slid to in front of Deondre and it was blown apart. "And the monster I lost was the Masked Dragon, (1400/1100) which when destroyed in battle allows me to special summon a dragon from my deck with an attack of 1500 or less to the field." He deck spat out his monster and he slapped it onto his disk. A red and white dragon appeared on his field. "I special summon another Masked Dragon to my field in defense mode!"

Deondre shook his head to clear the little dots that came from holding his breath for so long. He looked over at the dragon demon and threw him a thumbs-up. "Thanks man."

Ryu nodded sternly. "It was no problem, but don't get too happy yet, or have you forgotten she still has that...thing on the field?"

Yamidra still was out of sight because of the size of her dragon. "I suppose I have to end my turn, don't I?" She sounded positively bored.

Siegfried drew. ("Trap cards can't work on her monster, so we're going to need a different plan of attack. We can't use magic cards against her as long as Imperial Order is on the field, so all we can do is play defensively until we get a monster stronger than her creature.") "I set another monster in defense mode. End turn."

CJ drew and set a monster, throwing a pleading look for help at Rikuo. "I switch my Enraged Battle Ox to defense mode." The Minotaur fell to one knee and placed its arms out in front of it. "End turn."

Rikuo looked down at his deck and then at his hand. ("No magic cards and no trap cards. We're going to have to draw an incredible card if we wish to turn this around.") He drew. "Heh, one of my new monsters. To use it I will need to sacrifice CJ's monster, as well as my own." He threw the dark-skinned demon a fanged grin. "Be glad I'm asking this time."

CJ smiled back and nodded. "Help yourself." He slid his monster card into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my monster to help my partner."

("There are some perks to working with the ape-horse.") Rikuo slid his Quicksilver Orb into the graveyard and threw down his new monster. "Yamidra! I hope you didn't expect your 'little' dragon to slow us down, for now I summon Irios the Steel Monarch!" (2700/2300) A huge humanoid make of clockwork gears appeared on his field. "When it is tribute summoned to the field, it doubles its attack strength for one turn as long as it is my only attacking monster!" (5400/2300) The clockwork monster shuddered and started to dance a little bit. "Now, attack her Shadow Dragon!" The machine charged forward, steam spraying out of its top as it approached the roaring monster.

Yamidra's voice, as before, somehow could be heard over her dragon's roaring. "What a foolish move. You shouldn't be attacking when I have three face-down cards. For now I reveal my trap card, Mirror Force. This will destroy your monster and leave you open to my attack next turn." A blue barrier sprang up between Irios and the dragon.

Rikuo sneered. ("I feel almost guilty for doing this. Almost.") He flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal Royal Decree! As long as this trap is in play all traps are negated, so your Mirror Force is nothing!" Irios smashed through the now inert barrier and in one punch the Shadow Dragon's head was removed. The pieces of the creature came apart into bits of shadow that quickly rejoined the miasma around them.

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 8000

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 38900

As the dragon's enormous body faded away and Yamidra came back into sight, Rikuo smiled at her superiorly. "Perhaps you're not as all-powerful as you wish?"

Yamidra's cold expression lightened just a little. "Wolf...I think I'll save you for last. You look like the most fun to destroy."

Rikuo slid a card into his duel disk. "People have told me that in the past. They're dead now. End turn."

Ryu smiled at his friend. "Excellent play, Rikuo."

The wolf demon puffed his chest a little. "Keh! She's a pushover."

Even though she was being insulted, Yamidra didn't look very angry. She still looked bored.

Ryu drew. "Since Royal Decree is negating your Imperial Order trap card, I may play my magic cards. First, the magic card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards." He drew his two and slid them into his hand. Looking his hand over, he calmly slid his Masked Dragon into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my Masked Dragon to summon Infernus the Pyro Dragon (2200/2000) in attack mode." The ground in front of him exploded as the long, snake-like form of his fire dragon appeared on the field. "Direct attack on her life points!" Infernus hissed and sprayed a burst of flame that slammed into a barrier around the dark dragoness, negating the actual physical damage the attack could cause.

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 8000

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 36700

Ryu folded his hand up and smiled to Yamidra. "I know the truth about you, Yamidra. I know who and what you really are. End turn."

Yamidra still had yet to change expressions. She was still cold and emotionless.

Deondre drew. "She really needs to get out more often. Or at least get some sugar in her system." He slapped down his monster. "I summon D.D. Lancer (1500/1000) in attack mode!" A man in futuristic clothing and wielding a laser lance appeared on his field. "Attack her life points directly!" The man charged forward to slam into her energy barrier.

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 8000

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 35200

Deondre knew that they had her on the ropes now. ("She might have plenty of life points left, but pretty soon that won't matter. We're going to wipe her out.") "End turn."

Yamidra waved her hand and five cards appeared next to her four. "Now let me see..." She mused, tapping her cheek with a black nail. "How shall I kill you? Perhaps this...or maybe this?"

CJ glanced over at Rikuo worriedly.

The wolf demon shook his head to dispel the dark-skinned demon's fears. He knew that she was trying to brush off the fact that, even with all of the cards in her hand, she was in trouble. ("Or she will be when she plays a magic card.")

Yamidra finally decided. "First I set five monsters face-down on my field." Five of the cards she had chosen floated onto her field in a horizontal position. "And now I reveal the ritual magic card Shadow Revival. This ritual requires I sacrifice five monsters." Her five face-down monster shuddered and then exploded.

Rikuo tapped a button on his duel disk. "And once again you fall for my trap. Reveal Emergency Provisions! This allows me to sacrifice my Royal Decree to gain 1000 life points. And when my trap is removed from the field, your Imperial Order trap card reactivates. That means you're about to wind up negating your own magic card and sacrificing all of you monsters for nothing."

Yamidra flipped up one of her two face-down cards. "Wolf, you're the one who isn't as all-powerful as he thinks. Reveal Emergency Provisions. This means that I will sacrifice my Imperial Order and my face-down card to gain 2000 life points. That's not all either. Since my Imperial Order is leaving, my ritual does activate." Her two cards exploded at the same time that Rikuo's trap did.

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 9000

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 37200

Once again, Yamidra's monster zone tore open and another shadowy form shot up into the air. It brought its head down to glare at the assembled demon duelists. The shadows dissolved to reveal a black dragon with blue eyes. Bringing its jaws ridiculously close to Rikuo's head, it snarled and blew a burst of black smoke into the wolf demon's face.

Rikuo took a step back, coughing. As soon as he could breathe again, he growled darkly at the fact that she was daring to make fun of him. ("I'll kill her...I'll...I'll...")

_("Stop complaining and just duel?")_

("Shut up Daniel.") Rikuo growled back at the dragon, which had brought its head back to a more reasonable distance.

Yamidra was once again out of sight of her creature, though she could still be heard over its roaring. "Let's see if another of my weak monsters can defeat you. Shadow Dragon-Teryops should be enough." (6000/6000)

Rikuo frowned as he realized that he had no trap to defend him. ("Crap....")

Yamidra sounded a little more upbeat. "What's the matter little wolf? Afraid? You should be. Teryops, attack his Steel Monarch." The dragon roared and sprayed out a blast of black flame at Rikuo's clockwork monster, blowing it apart.

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 37200

Yamidra's voice echoed out above the sound of the roaring flames. "Finally, I set three cards face-down. End turn."

Siegfried drew and he immediately knew how to deal with this problem. "I've got this monster handled. I sacrifice my two monsters to summon a creature that will purge your darkness, Yamidra!"

A knight riding a white horse appeared on his field. "I summon Knight of Chivalry (2500/2000) to the field!" Upon hearing its name, the knight reared up on his horse and trumpeted a battle cry. "Then I set two cards face-down. End turn."

CJ drew and set another monster face-down. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and growled. ("I've got no choice.") "I set one monster face-down and two cards. End turn."

Ryu drew and looked over at CJ. "CJ?"

CJ already knew what the dragon demon wanted. "Sure, help yourself."

Ryu slapped down his monster. "I sacrifice CJ's face-down monster to summon Crystallis the Ice Dragon (2200/2000) in defense mode!" A pillar of ice exploded out of his field and then shattered as a huge snake-like dragon made out of ice appeared on the field. "Then I switch Infernus to defense mode!" The huge flame dragon curled around itself and formed a molten ball of fire. "End turn."

Deondre drew and set a monster. "I also switch D.D. Lancer to defense mode." The laser-lance wielding monster slid into a crouching position. "End turn."

Yamidra waved her hand and five cards appeared in front of her. "I draw. Now Teryops, I give you my blessing. Reveal face-down card, Blessing of Yamidra. This continuous trap will give all monsters on my field the power to deal damage through defense."

Rikuo looked at his second face-down Quicksilver Orb (0/0) and paled. ("Maybe I shouldn't have gotten her attention on me.")

The shadowed form of Teryops roared and began to charge up a blast of dark flame within its jaws. "I changed my mind," Yamidra said from behind her dragon. "You'll be the first to go, Wolf. Teryops, attack his face-down monster."

"YAMIDRA!" Siegfried nearly screamed.

Though Yamidra could not be seen, Teryops did turn its head to look at the German Duelist. "Hmm? You have something to say, tiger lord?"

Siegfried coldly glared at her. "I do, you ice-bitch. You're nothing but a worm. A little lizard that hides in the shadows and makes little plots that serve no purpose. You're nothing to anyone, except maybe Envirius."

He laughed loudly, the sound a little too strained. "So what do you have to say to that, iguana?" He used an insult he had heard Rikuo use on Ryu once.

Teryops went silent, as did Yamidra. They seemed to be communing with each other.

Rikuo, CJ, and Deondre all stared at the uncharacteristic act on the part of the Blitzkrieg duelist.

Ryu had a look on his face that one would get if just watching someone insult a god.

A few seconds past, and then Teryops jaws widened, flames arching within the cavernous mouth. "I have to say that you just called me an iguana. The last person to do that is still locked in a hell that even I wouldn't be able to stand. For insulting me, you must be destroyed. Teryops, crush his pitiful monster beneath your Darkness Divinity Blast."

The dragon opened its jaws wider and wider, until the ball that developed was big that it could destroy both Siegfried and his knight in one flash of black flame. Teryops gave one final growling noise, and then it exhaled, sending the ball of black flame barreling down to consume Siegfried's monster.

The German Demon Duelist allowed himself a small smile. "I activate..."

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: The first loss

Author's Notes: To Grisham-I'm glad you asked about that. The rules for a darkness game are made at the start, and Daniel announced that the winner walked away with their body, while the loser was banished. Since it was a double K.O., the darkness game couldn't determine the winner of the loser. And no, you didn't upset me with your review. I was glad you did so, since you explained what instance something seemed wrong.

Plus, thank you for all of your ideas. I've actually got a lot of cards now thanks to all of you. Hopefully this should pick up the pace.

Also, to all of the readers of my sister's story, Angel Duelist Legacy: She wanted me to apologize to all of you for not having chapter 4 up. I told her to not worry about it, because if she expects to copy my typing speed, she's going to have to go to college and learn to write a lot of reports in a short amount of time. Plus she's gonna need to get a little better at dueling. ::Runs off to avoid painful sharp stuff from said sister::


	33. The first loss

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 33: The first loss

_Envirius's laughter echoed across the huge chamber. "And that's it. You're all finished." The smoke around him settled to reveal him showing them his two cards. "Monster Reborn and my Dagger of Butterflies-Elma." He slid the Monster Reborn into his duel disk. "I revive Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth to the field!" The shadow shield appeared on his field. "And now I activate my Dagger!" The pair of ornate daggers appeared over the shield. (300/3000)_

_Yami felt his face break out into a cold sweat. ("No...I can't stop him this time.")_

_Kaiba didn't look much more pleased either._

_Envirius smiled and pointed to his monster. "Good-bye. Activate infinite soul drain combo!"_

The Supreme Dark Soul-Sloth groaned, though it didn't activate its loop.

Joey held up his face-down card. "Sorry Envirius, but I've got the answer for you loop right here. I'm activating my trap card, Graverobber. This lets me steal one card from your graveyard and use it immediately. So I 'm gonna take your Confiscation and make you toss your Dagger of Butterflies into the graveyard. And since it went from your hand to your graveyard, it ain't comin back."

Joey- 6000/7000

Yami- 7000/7000

Kaiba- 7000/7000

Envirius- 3700/7000

Envirius looked at his graveyard and groaned. "That was impressive Joey. I must admit that. End turn."

Joey drew and sighed. "I drew Lightning Blade. End turn."

Yami drew and the card was shot out of his hand. "And there goes King's Knight. (1500/1300) End turn."

Kaiba drew and rolled his eyes. "Deck Destruction Virus." ("It would be perfect, if I had a monster I could use it with.") "End turn."

Envirius drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "Activate Recruiting Force. Now we each draw five cards from our decks and summon any four star or below monsters we get. The rest of the cards we discard into our graveyards. But since my Sniper's Sight is in play, you all pretty much lose the top five cards of your decks."

The three duelists sighed and slid the top five cards of their decks free. With a quick glance at them, they slid them all into the graveyard.

Envirius drew his five and a smile slid across his face. "It's time to start ripping all of your life points apart. I summon Supreme Dark Soul-Greed, (1000/1000) Supreme Dark Soul-Pain (3000/0) and Supreme Dark Soul-Hate (2000/2000) to the field in attack mode!" Three blobs of darkness appeared on his field. The first took the shape of a vase, the second took the shape of a sword and the third took the shape of an axe.

The dark-suited man smiled and pointed at Yami. "And guess who is first on my list for destruction, Pharaoh. Attack!" The shadowy forms launched across the field, but were stopped by a swirling vortex.

Kaiba held up his face-down card. "While I don't like Yugi at all, his loss means that I'm out a body shield. So I use Negate Attack to defend him for this turn."

Envirius nodded to his opponents. "Then take your turn, boys."

Joey looked down at his deck and then over at Yami.

Yami nodded to him. ("We have to win this.")

Joey drew and frowned. "I drew Panther Warrior." (2000/1600) The card was blown out of his hand. "That doesn't mean I'm out yet."

He grabbed a card and slid it into his duel disk. "Go Giant Trunade!" A huge wind hit the field, blinding everyone with whipped up dust. When the wind died down, all of Envirius's cards, his Seal of Dark Souls included, were off the field. "I'll end my turn."

Yami drew with smile on his face. "Now let me see, since you can't stop me, I think it is time to end this duel."

Envirius looked at his four monsters and chuckled. "Very funny Pharaoh, but you can't beat me that easily."

Yami slid his card into his duel disk. "Oh can't I? Go Monster Reborn, Reviving the Winged Dragon of Ra from the graveyard for a turn!" The ground in front of him exploded into flame as the huge golden form of the Winged Dragon of Ra emerged from the ground. (0/0)

Envirius looked at the dragon, and then at his life points.

Yami smiled. "I see that you understand your predicament. Since all I have to do is sacrifice all but one life point to raise Ra's attack points, I can finish you off in one attack. Go, Life Infusion effect!" (6999/6999) The Winged Dragon of Ra howled as it became infused with the power of its master. "Now attack Supreme Dark Soul-Greed!" The dragon arched its head and charged up a huge ball of flame. "God Breath Cannon!"

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_The dragon opened its jaws wider and wider, until the ball that developed was big that it could destroy both Siegfried and his knight in one flash of black flame. Teryops gave one final growling noise, and then it exhaled, sending the ball of black flame barreling down to consume Siegfried's monster._

_The German Demon Duelist allowed himself a small smile. "I activate..."_

"...the trap card Holy Mystical Infusion!" A white light illuminated his knight. "This will increase my creature's attack points by 500 attack points times the number of cards in my hand!" (3500/2000)

His other face-down card flipped up as well. "Next up is the quicklplay magic card Call to Arms, allowing me to play any equipment magic card in my hand!" His smile couldn't be anything less than predatory as he slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I play the Legendary Weapon Card Thunder Claws! This will raise the attack power of my monster by 3000 points!" The knight was surrounded by a field of electricity that raised its attack power. (6500/2000)

"Of course, that doesn't mean my knight's special ability isn't about to be activated." Siegfried smirked. "When it battles with a dark attribute monster, such as your Shadow Dragon, it doubles its attack points!" (13000/2000)

The knight kicked his horse into a charge, lance extended. He slammed through the sphere of black flames and charged at Teryops. "Knight of Chivalry, counter-attack!" The armored warrior launched through the air and ran the dragon through.

Shadow Dragon-Teryops screeched as it was blown back into scraps of shadow.

Siegfried- 8000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 30200

As the form of her dragon faded from around her, Yamidra looked down at the pit of her monster field and then back over at Siegfried. "You...." She smiled darkly. It was the first emotion any of the demons had seen out of her. "I'm going to kill you right now." One of her two face-down cards flipped up. "First the magic card Pot of Greed, so that I can draw two cards." A pair of cards appeared above the five in front of her.

"Then I set five monsters on my field." Five of the cards that hovered in front of her flew over and set themselves in row before her. "And now I will crush you, foolish cat. Activate Hell Dragon Ritual." The five cards in front of her exploded.

"I will summon a beast that is capable of wiping all of you out. This is still not my best, but it will be enough for all of you." Up above her, the 'sky' started to turn red. Lightning flashed in the distance and a huge form could be seen approaching the castle that hovered in the middle of the void.

Ryu broke down into a cold sweat.

Rikuo glanced over at his friend. "What's the matter? Whatever it is can't be that dangerous."

The dragon demon still couldn't take his eyes off the approaching form. "Rikuo, you have to understand that I know all about these monsters that she is summoning. It's like watching monsters out of a fairytale suddenly appear before you. And if I am correct, then the creature she is summoning is going to be a problem."

Rikuo snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah right. We'll destroy whatever it is."

Then the creature arrived and Rikuo decided to rethink his opinion...

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Envirius smiled as his monster was destroyed. "Pharaoh, you've just made your last mistake. Attacking Supreme Dark Soul-Greed triggers its special ability!" The shadow vase exploded as it was hit by the attack. "I am allowed to draw a card from my deck for every 1000 attack points of damage I am supposed to take." He drew five cards off the top of his deck and added them to his current five.

Yami shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You've just taken over 5000 life points of damage, so this is the end for you."

Envirius motioned to his life point total. "Is it? I can't take battle damage from the loss of my Supreme Dark Soul-Greed. Too bad you didn't know that, or maybe you wouldn't have wasted all but one life point just to give me a five card draw."

The Pharaoh understood his mistake all too well. ("Oh no...")

Envirius looked at the magnificent form of the Winged Dragon of Ra with a calm smile on his face. "Well? Are you going to end your turn or what?"

Yami looked down at the ground and then at his hand. ("I'm not beaten yet. Even with only one life point, I will win this duel.") "First I sacrifice the Winged Dragon of Ra to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in defense mode!" The giant golden God Card faded and in its place was a female magician in a crouching position. "End turn."

Kaiba drew, glad that stupid combo was off the field. He looked at his card and snickered. "I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600/1200) in defense mode." An armored fiend monster appeared on his field in a crouching position. "Then I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Envirius drew and slid four cards into his duel disk. "First, I think it's time to recover some of my lost life points." He slid a card into the fifth slot. "I activate Emergency Provisions to sacrifice all four of my face-down cards." The four cards exploded and his life points rose.

Joey- 7000

Yami- 1

Kaiba- 7000

Envirius- 7700

Envirius sighed in relief. "Now that I have some breathing room, I'll activate this magic card. It's called Soul Exchange. It allows me to sacrifice your monsters, as well as my own."

He grinned and slid another card into his duel disk. "That means that you all lose! Go Crest of the Dark Souls!" Both Kaiba's Ryu-Kishin and Yami's Dark Magician Girl faded, as did all three of Envirius's Supreme Dark Soul monsters.

The field shuddered and then a huge pillar vines exploded free of the ground. The vines writhed around insanely fast, and then formed into an archway. The arch slowly turned brown as an inky blackness within the center of the opening appeared. The darkness spread until the arch became what it was meant to be. A portal.

Envirius's voice echoed across the chamber. "Pharaoh, Seto, and Joey! Let me introduce you to the monster that rules over the planes of demon-kind. The overseer of the end of the world." The inky blackness of the portal stretched outwards as a black-robed form walked through it and onto Envirius's monster field.

It turned to face the three duelists, and its robes fell away to reveal a form bristling with spikes and muscle tissue. The demon howled and the arch behind it shattered into nothing. "Dark Tyrant Imperium (7000/0) in attack mode!"

Yami could feel the sweat dripping down his face, but he knew that they still had one turn thanks to the down-side of Envirius's Soul Exchange magic card.

Envirius slid a card into his duel disk. "And now I trigger the magic card Quick Attack, which gives my monster to attack right now." He tapped his chin with a fingernail and looked at the three. "Now if I am correct, I get to kill one of you now. The question is...who?" He smiled at the delicious situation he had before him. ("I could kill the Pharaoh. I should kill the Pharaoh. But...") Joey Wheeler made a good target too. So did Seto Kaiba.

He debated it with himself, while his three opponents all held their breath.

Kaiba knew that he had an ace in the hole. His Shrink magic card would save him or the Mutt, but Yugi only had one life point left. ("Don't pick Yugi...")

Envirius snapped his fingers resolutely. "I've decided who I'm going to attack." His sinister smile told them that he had a plan. "I'll play this card from my hand. It's a little something called Multi-Attack, which allows my creature to attack all of you." The Dark Tyrant on his field howled and flew across the field, claws poised to run through its first target.

Yami braced himself with the knowledge that he had failed. He had been unable to stop the world from being destroyed.

The Dark Tyrant brought its claw down....

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Rikuo Amero had faced off against some scary things before, but this monster took the cake, so to speak. ("By the gods........")

It was over 200' long from one end to the other. It had its massive body curled around the castle. In a way, it reminded him of Saint Dragon Osiris. The biggest difference was the fact that even the Egyptian God didn't look so horrible. Along its body were huge blood red spikes that dug into the castle foundation. Its snake-like form attached to a head seemed to be nothing more than a circular cavern of teeth that rotated around in huge circles. The monster lowered its blender-like mouth down at the group and from deep within its maw, a small red dot appeared and began to grow.

Yamidra didn't seem bothered by the monster in the slightest. "Let me introduce you. This is Hell Dragon God." (10000/10000)

Ryu took a choice couple of steps back, as did Rikuo.

CJ, Deondre and Siegfried didn't seem so bothered by it. After all, it couldn't attack them yet. They had time to gather up a defense against it.

The ball of fire within the Hell Dragon God's maw got bigger and bigger, until it was big enough that it could engulf all five of their fields in one hit. "My Hell Dragon God's first special ability allows it to attack every monster on the field the moment it is summoned. Since my Yamidra's Blessing card gives it the power to deal damage through defense, almost all of you are about to die. Go Inferno of the Gods." The Hell Dragon exhaled and the miniature sun fell down on top of all five duelists at once.

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Yami had heard Kaiba activate his Shrink magic card to cut the attack of the Dark Tyrant in half, but it didn't matter. It was still enough to wipe out his life points. (3500/0)

He heard a crack and he felt the pain. He felt the claws enter his stomach and send him flying backwards and out of the dueling arena. However, there was no pain when he hit the wall of the chamber, or when he fell the ten feet to the ground. Then there was nothing.......

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: A Losing Battle

Author's Notes: Interesting what the roll of a die gets you, huh?


	34. A losing battle

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 34: A Losing Battle

_Yami had heard Kaiba activate his Shrink magic card to cut the attack of the Dark Tyrant in half, but it didn't matter. It was still enough to wipe out his life points. (3500/0)_

_He heard a crack and he felt the pain. He felt the claws enter his stomach and send him flying backwards and out of the dueling arena. However, there was no pain when he hit the wall of the chamber, or when he fell the ten feet to the ground. Then there was nothing......._

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Joey had wholly expected for Yugi to activate some kind of card combo to save himself from the attack that was headed for his life points. ("That, or Kaiba's gonna trigger one of his face-down cards and save him.")

Then Envirius's Dark Tyrant Imperium had shot past him, running Yami through the stomach with its claws.

As Yugi's body slammed into the back wall of the chamber, Joey felt his blood run cold at the unmoving form of his best friend. "Yug? YUG!?" He charged towards his friend, only to get tackled by Envirius's Dark Tyrant and thrown to his back. There was another grunt as he heard the monster tackle Kaiba too.

Envirius smirked as the Dark Tyrant Imperium returned to his field. He looked at his ultimate beast and laughed. "To think, it struck down the Pharaoh! And here I was expecting him to hold out the longest out of all three of you. I have to admit that I am rather disappointed. Oh well." He broke down into another fit of laughter that echoed across the chamber.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 3500

Envirius- 7700

Joey came to his feet with his eyes still locked on the fallen form of his friend. ("Yugi...get up....please...")

Yugi's body remained still though, with a small pool of blood developing around the stomach area.

Kaiba came to his feet numbly, his eyes looking upon the fallen and currently bleeding form of his rival. ("Yugi Moto......struck down.....impossible....") The young CEO was about to run over and try to save Yugi, but a roar from behind him caught his attention.

"If you haven't noticed, we still have a darkness game going on at the moment." Envirius still waited for the two remaining duelists to turn. ("This should be rich. I'm going to get berated with a 'you're going to pay' speech. Then they're going to draw their last cards and realize that they cannot win.")

When Joey turned though, his voice was disturbing calm. "Are you done?"

Envirius nearly fell over in surprise. "Excuse me? I just struck down your friend, and that's all you have to say?"

Kaiba turned to look at Envirius next, his glare so cold that it seemed to bring a stop to the insane laughter of the Dark Tyrant. "We're locked in this duel, and since we can't help him, first we'll defeat you. Just know that if my rival dies because of you, then I'm going to make sure you don't get a chance to defend yourself from death, like Yugi had."

Envirius frowned at the lack of what he had hoped to see. "I set the last two cards in my hand into my duel disk. End turn."

Joey drew and he slid his entire hand into his duel disk. "I set three cards face-down. End turn."

Kaiba drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down. End turn."

Envirius smiled at the foolishness of his opponents. ("They're going to lose this duel. Now...") He smiled down at his deck and drew. "I draw and summon Yata-Garasu (200/100) in attack mode." A phantasmal bird appeared on his field and it squawked at the two duelists. "If it deals either of you life point damage, then you will be unable to draw next turn. Yata, attack Kaiba's life points directly!" The small bird screeched and launched across the field, intent on biting the duelist.

Joey flipped up his face-down card. "And now you're about to lose most of your life points! Go Magic-Arm Shield!" A metal plate appeared in the air in front of him. It shot out a pair of pinchers that grabbed onto the Dark Tyrant Imperium and pulled it over to Kaiba's field. "This trap means that your ugly little crow is about to collide right into your big, bad demon."

The Yata-Garasu fluttered in front of the Dark Tyrant Imperium and pecked at it a couple of times. The demon growled and smacked the phantom bird out of the air, shattering it into digital pieces instantly.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 3500

Envirius- 900

Envirius stared at his ultimate demon with fear in his eyes. The creature roared as it was returned to its master's field, since his battle phase automatically ended. "End...turn."

Joey nodded to Kaiba. "Truce?"

The CEO frowned at the duelist he never believed was worthy of anything. "For now, yes. If you blow it though, I'm going to make you regret it." With that said, they both brought their attention back to their collective target.

And Envirius realized that his duel wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

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_The ball of fire within the Hell Dragon God's maw got bigger and bigger, until it was big enough that it could engulf all five of their fields in one hit. "My Hell Dragon God's first special ability allows it to attack every monster on the field the moment it is summoned. Since my Yamidra's Blessing card gives it the power to deal damage through defense, almost all of you are about to die. Go Inferno of the Gods." The Hell Dragon exhaled and the miniature sun fell down on top of all five duelists at once._

As the smoke from the huge explosion cleared, Yamidra watched expectantly to see just how much havoc she had caused with her attack. Finally the smoke cleared enough that she could see the damage to the field.

Siegfried- 3500

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 30200

The dark dragoness found herself horribly disappointed to see that all of her opponent's had survived the attack.

Siegfried looked at his bare field and frowned. ("I suppose losing my knight was better than dying.")

CJ was holding up one of his face-down cards. "You triggered my trap card, Hallowed Life Barrier. By discarding one card from my hand into the graveyard, my life points are now unharmed by your attack for this turn." He still had his two face-down cards, though his Enraged Battle Ox was gone.

Rikuo's field cleared to show the wolf demon smirking. "Believe it or not, you just helped me, foolish dragon. My face-down Quicksilver Orb, (0/0) because it was destroyed in battle, allows me to special summon one monster from my hand to the field." A wolf demon in samurai armor was standing on his field its sword drawn. "That means that I got to summon my Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) to the field. Plus, I activated the Safeguard card to shield myself from the damage of your attack."

Ryu's field cleared to reveal that he had flipped up both of his face-down cards. "I hope you didn't expect to catch me off guard. I know too well what your creature does. Therefore, I activated my Waboku trap card to defend myself and my monsters from all damage for this turn. As for my other card? It's a little something I like to call Nexus Warp. It fuses my Ice and Pyro dragons into something you cannot defeat." A new form appeared on the field in the place of the two dragons. The new monster roared loudly, its body a living mixture of fire and ice. "I have created the Grand Nexus Dragon." (2800/2000)

Deondre's field looked unchanged as well, except that his face-down card was missing. "I used my D.D. Defense Grid trap card to shield all face-up and face-down monsters on my field from attacks, as long as they have D.D. in their title."

Siegfried smiled at the dark dragoness. "So that means we survived your creature's attack."

Yamidra brought her cold gaze over the German Duelist. "Oh? You should not assume that you're safe." Her face-down card flipped up. "I told you that I would destroy you, and that is exactly what I am going to do. I activate the trap card Souls of the Tribute. This will deal one target on the field 500 life points of damage for every monster that has been tributed this turn. I sacrificed five monsters, which means you take 2500 life points of damage."

Siegfried- 1000

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 30200

Yamidra's final card flipped over from its position in her hand. "I activate Tremendous Fire, which will deal me 500 life points of damage and you 1000 life points of damage." The card shuddered and started to glow.

Siegfried wasn't sure whether he wanted to growl or cry. ("Crystal...I guess I won't be coming back...")

The Tremendous Fire card belched out a burst of flames that consumed the Tiger Demon instantly. All that was left was his duel disk, which clattered to the ground.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 29700

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"It's my turn now, and we're going to make short work of you, Envirius." He drew. "I summon Blue Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) in defense mode." A burly warrior wielding a flaming blue sword appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Kaiba drew. "I set one monster face-down." He glanced back at Yugi's body, which had yet to move. His resolve to win hardened and he brought his attention back to Envirius.

Envirius drew and the severity of his life point situation was fixed. "I play the magic card Regeneration. This allows me to gain 1000 life points times the number of 1000 life increments that I lost last turn. Since I lost 6800 life points, I gain back 6000 life points." A green light shimmered around him and he sighed in relief as the soul damage from his earlier mishap was almost completely gone.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 3500

Envirius- 6900

Joey frowned and looked over at Kaiba, who was returning the gesture to his temporary ally.

Envirius caught the exchanged looks and he smiled. "What's the matter boys? You think you can't win now? I hope so, because that proves you're being realistic. Dark Tyrant Imperium, attack Kaiba's face-down monster card!" The demon cackled and flew across the field, slashing with its claws and cutting the face-down monster apart.

Kaiba slid his Battle Ox (1700/1000) into the graveyard. "You're an asshole, you know that right?"

Envirius shrugged. "When you're right, you're right. End turn."

Joey drew and he could already see that this duel was going to be a close one. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Kaiba drew and slid the card into his disk. "I set this and end my turn."

Envirius drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "Now I summon Dark Elf (2000/800) in attack mode." A dark-skinned spellcaster appeared on his field and began to chant in a cold voice. "Now I'll have Imperium attack Kaiba directly." The demon howled and launched across the field, claws out to run the CEO through.

Kaiba tapped a button on his duel disk. "And once again, get ready to lose a lot of life points! Reveal trap card, Attack Redirection Armor!" A demonic suit of steel armor appeared on his field and flew over to attach to the Dark Elf. "This will force your monster to attack that creature instead of me." As if on cue, Imperium turned around in mid-air and flew over to the elf, now intent on cutting her apart instead of Kaiba.

Envirius flipped up one of his face-down cards. "I reveal the trap card Draining Shield, which negates my monster's attack and allows me to gain life points equal to its attack total. So thank you very much for the life point boost, Kaiba."

"You're very welcome, Envirius. Unfortunately though, that life point gain is about to be a life point loss, thanks to my face-down card!" Kaiba's face-down card flipped up. "Reveal Life-seeking Bomb! This trap card negates any life point gain that is because of a monster, and it also destroys the monster. Since you have only 6900 life points, this is the end!"

Envirius flipped his other face-down card. "Kaiba, I reveal my face-down quickplay magic card, Mystik Wok! This allows me to sacrifice my Dark Tyrant Imperium and gain life points equal to its attack total. Since that happens, your trap card fails." His demon howled and then exploded into flecks of light that fell all over him.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 3500

Envirius- 20900

The dark-suited businessman tugged on his tie, a smile on his face. "Well that was fun. Your traps backfired on you and gave me a 14000 life point gain. Thank you very much Kaiba." He cleared his throat and then pointed at the man he had just thanked. "Dark Elf, I pay 1000 life points so that you can attack his life points directly!" The dark-skinned spellcaster chanted and a ball of black energy developed within her cupped palms.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 3500

Envirius- 19900

When she fired the blast though, Joey's Blue Flame Swordsman leapt in the way of the attack. "Didja forget about me Envirius?" The blond-haired duelist searched through his deck and slapped down a monster. "When Blue Flame Swordsman is destroyed, then I may special summon Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) from my deck or hand to the field." He found the card he was searching for and he slapped it onto his duel disk. When he did, a burly warrior wielding a flaming red sword appeared on his field.

Envirius knew that he had enough life points to win this duel easily, but still... ("All I have left is the Dark Elf.") "End turn."

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"Siegfried!" Both CJ and Deondre's eyes were wide in horror.

Rikuo and Ryu both had their eyes lowered down to the ground. They knew to expect casualties, but that didn't make this any easier.

Yamidra's voice calmly spoke over the howling of her Hell Dragon God. "End turn."

CJ spun around and growled at her. "That's all you have to say!?!? You just killed him, you crazy bitch!!!"

"CJ! Draw your damned card!" Rikuo wouldn't tolerate this emotional crap at the moment. "We have a battle to win. Mourn later!"

The dark-skinned duelist looked down at his deck and then drew angrily. "I'm going to make you and your ass of a dragon pay right now. Do you hear me Yamidra!? I'm going to slay your dragon right now!"

The Hell Dragon God roared again, the ground around the duelists shuddering from the force of its cry. Yamidra smiled wistfully up the creature and then looked over at Ryu. "You said you know what this is? You know the significance it holds?"

The golden-haired dragon demon frowned. "The Hell Dragon is supposed to be the bringer of the apocalypse, symbolizing the coming of the end of the world. And the Shadow Dragons were its two children, who fed upon the sorrows of the world and then would bring the pain back to their parent to feed it." His eyes widened at what she was getting at. "No..."

Rikuo hated being left in the dark like this. He growled at Ryu to get his attention. "Hey, what's the problem?"

The dragon demon grimaced at Yamidra's implication. "In the mythology of the dragon demons, the Hell Dragon is supposed to symbolize the beginning of the apocalypse, but not the actual destruction itself. That would mean..."

Yamidra's dark smile radiated a strength that proved the fact that she was an ancient being of incredible power. "It would mean that the end of the world has yet to come out. And when it arrives, there will be nothing that any of you can do to stop me from succeeding in my conquest of your world. Soon, the Apocalypse God will arise, and then it will be all over."

CJ whistled sharply, bringing everyone's attention to him. "You're looking a bit too far forward for my tastes. Have you forgotten that I'm still here, and that I'm about to strike down your so-called ultimate monster."

The Hell Dragon God brought its head down low, roaring down at the being that dared to challenge it.

CJ smirked up at the nightmare before him. "I'm about to shut you up. Ready?"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Beginning of the end of the world

Author's Notes: Alright, here's the deal with Angel Duelist Legacy, for those of you that care. My sister was going to post an apology as her fourth chapter, but I told her that was pretty stupid, so she took it off. I'm sorry if that got anyone's hopes up. She's really busy with some things at the moment, so please be patient with her. Later.


	35. The beginning of the end of the world

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 35: The beginning of the end of the world

_CJ whistled sharply, bringing everyone's attention to him. "You're looking a bit too far forward for my tastes. Have you forgotten that I'm still here, and that I'm about to strike down your so-called ultimate monster."_

_The Hell Dragon God brought its head down low, roaring down at the being that dared to challenge it._

_CJ smirked up at the nightmare before him. "I'm about to shut you up. Ready?"_

The dark-skinned duelist tossed down his monster. "I summon Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in attack mode!" A warrior holding a heavy shield appeared on his field.

Rikuo, Ryu and Deondre all stared at the monster, and then at CJ.

Deondre was the first to throw something in. "Dude...you know that's Big Shield Gardna, right?"

CJ nodded resolutely. "I know."

"Okay....you understand that it has 100 attack points?"

"Yep." CJ smiled and slid the other card in his hand into his duel disk. "And now you're about to watch the supreme dragon get put down like the dog it is. I activate the Legendary Weapon Card Guardian Maul! This will add my monster's defense points to its attack points, and then double its defense points." A huge-headed hammer appeared in the hands of his monster. (2700/5400)

Rikuo frowned at the waste of a Legendary Weapon Card. ("What is he doing? That's not enough to defeat the Hell Dragon God.")

CJ revealed his face-down cards. "Now I activate Shield and Sword, switching the attack and defense of all monsters on the field for one turn!" (5400/2700)

"And for the finale, my other face-down card is the equipment magic card Excalibur, which doubles the attack of my monster!" A thin and ornate blade appeared in the grasp of CJ's monster. (10800/2700)

Yamidra raised her thin eyebrows a little in surprise. "That is impressive."

CJ pointed at the Hell Dragon God. "Go Big Shield Gardna, Excalibur Holy Wave!" The warrior slammed both weapons into the ground, sending a wave of energy across the ground that rebounded off of Yamidra's shield and then plowed into the massive dragon. The titanic beast made a few strange gargling noises, and then exploded into bits of shadow that quickly dissipated.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 28900

CJ glared at Yamidra. "Consider that a taste of what I'm going to do to you after this is over. End turn."

Rikuo drew and couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. "Looks like it is time to directly attack your life points, hmm?" He slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down and attack your life points directly with Wolf Demon Lord! Howling Sword!" The wolf samurai drew his sword and brought in slamming down into the ground, creating a wave of energy that slammed harmlessly into Yamidra's barrier.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 26500

Ryu drew and slapped down his monster. "I summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in attack mode." A red and white dragon appeared on his field. "Now attack her life points directly, my two dragons!" The two beasts charged up their attacks and released them, both blasts slamming into the barrier of the dark dragoness.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 22300

The gold-haired dragon demon slid his three remaining cards into his duel disk. "I set these three cards face-down and end my turn."

Deondre drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "First I play the magic card D.D. Beacon." A green machine appeared on his field. "Then I play the ritual magic card Dimensional Rift. By sacrificing my D.D. Lancer, (1500/1000) my face-down D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) and my D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) that is in my hand, I can summon a monster with enough attack points to put us way in the lead." He slid the Warrior Lady card into his graveyard, and then his two monsters exploded into motes of light. The light formed together, and when it cleared a magnificent monster in futuristic armor was on his field. "I have summoned the Lord of the Different Dimension (4000/4000) to the field. Now, attack directly!" The king leapt forward and slammed his crystal scepter down against Yamidra's shield.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 8000

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 18300

Deondre slid his two remaining cards into his duel disk. His D.D. Beacon had three counters over it. "I'll set these and end turn."

Yamidra waved her hand and five cards appeared in the air before her. "I draw." Her dark eyes flashed over each of them in turn, and she motioned to one. It flipped over to reveal a dark abyss within the card's picture. "I activate magic card Beginning of the End. This allows me to discard my entire hand and all cards on my field. Then I may special summon the mighty Apocalypse Master (15000/15000) to the field in attack mode."

All around her the field started to grow dark. "I suggest you make prayers to whatever gods you believe in, because the end of the world is here." Thunder roared in the distance. "And you know what the funniest part of all of this is?" She was smiling the whole time.

Rikuo couldn't help himself. "What?"

"The funniest thing is..." Yamidra closed her eyes, the light smile on her face looking truly entertained. "If I win in this game, the world ends. Even if I lose, the world may end anyways." A man-sized shadowed form slowly lowered to the ground behind her. Slowly the darkness withdrew from its form and revealed a black human-shaped void that bowed to her. "This gentlemen, is the Apocalypse Master." (15000/15000)

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Joey drew and looked down at the card hopefully. ("Here we on deck.") A small smile appeared on his face and then he slid the card into his duel disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Kaiba drew and placed down his monster. "And I set one monster in defense mode. End turn."

Envirius drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "Now I've got you both. I play the magic card....."

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Ryu took a cautious step back from the creature, drops of sweat sliding down his face. ("Oh boy...how fun. We get to die at the hands of the bringer of the end of the world.")

Rikuo didn't look quite as worried. "Well, are you going to come after me, iguana?"

Yamidra pointed towards the group. "Kill him." The black void shape launched across the field, turning into a wave of blackness that swallowed up CJ's Big Shield Gardna.

All three demons froze for a second, and then snapped their heads over to get one last look at CJ. He was smiling slightly. "Kill her."

And then he was gone, as the wave of darkness consumed both him and his monster. The blackness withdrew to Yamidra's field and stood in position there, waiting for another order from its mistress. As an afterthought, it reached into is mass and removed the form of CJ's duel disk, throwing it over to where he had been but moments before.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 0

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 8000

Yamidra- 18300

("No...") Deondre could feel tears beginning to develop in his eyes.

_("CJ...")_ Daniel, though only a mental entity at the moment, felt the same way.

Rikuo clenched his fists and drew off the top of his deck. "Yamidra........" He slid the card into his disk. "End turn."

Ryu drew and he slid the card into his duel disk. "Deondre, you're up. Don't let her do this. Don't..."

Deondre drew and he looked down at the ground. "I...I..." Then his golden eyes came up to look over at Rikuo. He flicked the card he had drawn to his partner's feet. "Win...I'm going to make sure that she can't get away with this."

He looked over at the Apocalypse Master, a smile on his face that could only be described as reckless. "Are you ready? I'm going to make sure that you never get another chance to attack us with that thing. And all it will cost me is my life." He pointed at the Apocalypse Master. "Lord of the Different Dimension, attack her monster now!" The king nodded and charged, his weapon held up above him.

"That's suicide!" Ryu leaped forward, getting ready to tackle Deondre. ("He must have lost his mind.")

"JOURGEN! STOP!" Rikuo leaped forward and grabbed the dragon demon by the shoulder. "It's too late to stop him from attacking."

Yamidra sighed and shook her head. "That's too bad. I rather liked you, since you were the only one who didn't dare to insult me. Oh well. Crush him, Apocalypse Master." The man-shaped void nodded and leaped forward, transforming into the wave of darkness again.

Deondre tapped a button on his duel disk and his two face-down cards flipped face-up. "Here we go! Activate Kamikaze Combo!"

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"...Awakening of Oblivion!" The ground around Envirius exploded upwards, forming huge spires of stone that created something of a focusing point. "As the first cost for this card, I must sacrifice a monster each turn to it." His Dark Elf shimmered and then faded away.

"Now you're both through...Activate the special ability of my Awakening of Oblivion! It will now select one target at random amongst the current opponents on the field and drain them of all of their life points. And all it will cost me is 10000 life points. More or less..." His dark smile seemed to radiate a coldness that even broke through Kaiba's normally unbreakable shell. "...another one of you is about to die!"

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The Lord of the Different Dimension launched himself through the air and tackled the Apocalypse Master, wrapping the beast into a tight bear hug. He yelled out a battle cry and started to glow brightly, an aura of light surrounding his form.

And Deondre continued to smile at his opponent. "Now it's time to trigger my final strike. I'll make you pay for what you did to CJ and Siegfried." He motioned to his first flipped up card. "Explosive Infusion allows me to turn my monster into a living bomb, which means that after damage calculation he will explode and take your creature with him. We'll both lose attack points equal to your monster's attack points."

The shadowy miasma near him stretched around his body and began to engulf it. "I may be going because of the battle damage from our monsters, but you are coming with me. My other face-down card is Curse of Pain, which will redirect the effect damage of my trap card back at you. That means your life points are gone!!!" The shadows had engulfed him so much that he was almost completely gone.

Rikuo's eyes shifted brown and began to well up with tears. "Deondre..." Daniel started to walks towards his friend, only to be stopped by Ryu's outstretched arm.

"You can't help him. This is his battle and his battle alone now. He's making the ultimate sacrifice to destroy her and win this duel." The dragon demon grimaced at the fact that it had come to this, but he didn't intend to dishonor Deondre's sacrifice by trying to stop him.

Deondre felt the coldness of the shadows begin to completely absorb him, and he knew it was the end. Yet he had one last thing to say before his Lord of the Different Dimension exploded and took Yamidra out. "I understand what it means now. I understand..." He looked over at Ryu and Daniel with a weak smile on his face. "Bye guys. I hope you're not too disappointed with me." Then his monster exploded in one thunderous blast...

...And yet through all of the noise, the most deafening to the ears of Daniel was the noise of Deondre's duel disk clattering to the ground, owner-less.

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Envirius watched as energy began to arc through the top of the spire. "Now this duel is done. And the target of my card's wrath?" The spire shuddered and then pointed to Seto Kaiba. "Bye Seto. It's been nice knowing you."

The CEO gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. ("Yugi...it looks like I am going to get to duel you once more, after all.") He snapped his head over to Joey and frowned. "Mutt...if you don't win this and save my brother, then I swear that I will come back from the grave and make every second of your life a living hell."

Envirius mockingly wiped a finger under his eye to clear away an invisible tear. "How touching indeed." At the meeting point of all of the spires, a single beam of emerald light developed. "Die Seto Kaiba." The beam launched forward and blasted right through Kaiba's chest, leaving a hole the size of a baseball in the dead center of his chest and launching him out of the circle and into the chamber wall, where he slumped lifelessly to the ground next to his rival.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 0

Envirius- 9900

Just like that, Joey was all alone...

Envirius pointed to his Awakening of Oblivion. "Next turn, we're both going to die if I draw a monster. So I suggest that your draw is good, Wheeler. End turn."

Joey felt the tears developing in his eyes. He looked down at his deck and then fell to his knees. ("They're gone...Yug...") While he hated Kaiba, that didn't mean that he would ever wish a death upon the snobbish CEO. ("No one deserves this...no one...")

Envirius pointed at his kneeling opponent. "Is it over Joey? Have I won?"

A few seconds passed, and silence hung over the chamber...

"No...not yet..." Joey climbed to his feet. "I'm not out yet. There's still that single draw that I have left. And whether you want to believe it or not, this will be your end. Now...." His brown eyes looked upon his deck. "I draw!!!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Apocalypse Dragon


	36. The Apocalypse Dragon

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 36: The Apocalypse Dragon

..._And yet through all of the noise, the most deafening to the ears of Daniel was the noise of Deondre's duel disk clattering to the ground, owner-less._

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Yamidra brushed off her robes and sighed.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 0

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 8000

Deondre- 0

Yamidra- 18300

Ryu stared at the dark dragoness. "How..."

Yamidra smiled calmly. "Ah, I assume you are curious as to how I emerged from your friend's 'final' blow unharmed? It's simple really. The special ability of the Apocalypse Dragon protected me."

"Apocalypse Dragon?" Both demons echoed.

The dark dragoness motioned to the mushroom cloud of smoke behind her. "Oh yes, I forget that I needed to introduce you to him. Well then, say hello to the end."

The smoke cloud fully cleared to reveal a creature so big that neither Ryu nor Rikuo could fully comprehend its size. All they could best describe it as was a mountain sized dragon head. The jet black god brought its house-sized yellow eyes down to them, and then it roared so loudly that the very fabric of the dimension shook.

And as always before, Yamidra's voice could somehow be heard over the screeching. "This is the end of the world embodied. A monster who is so powerful, that even Exodia cannot overcome him. He is the eater of worlds, souls and light."

Her petite hand lifted up and the dragon opened its jaws, jets of blackness building up within its maw. "Wolf and dragon lord, meet Apocalypse-Bringer of the End. (Infinite/Infinite) Apocalypse, meet the earth's last line of defense against you." The dragon didn't respond. Instead, it continued to build up flames within its jaws.

"Apocalypse is brought to the field when my Apocalypse Master is destroyed. The moment it hits the field, my life points become shielded from all damage for the rest of the game. If Apocalypse-Bringer of the End falls though, then I lose the game. Luckily for you, he cannot attack. Instead, he'll simply automatically win me the game in five turns." Yamidra threw a little wink to Ryu. "And when he wins me the game, it will automatically destroy your world, too. So the clock is ticking. Can you stop that which cannot be stopped?"

Rikuo shivered in fear at the sight of the monster slowly bringing an attack forth that would win Yamidra the game. He swallowed down his fear and picked up the card at his feet. Glancing at it, he frowned. ("Shattering Fang? This will only work on magic and trap cards, not monsters. Absolutely useless to us.")

_("Rikuo, at this point I'm willing to believe in anything, if it can stop that thing.")_

The wolf demon looked over at Ryu. "Can you summon your Grand Emperor Dragon combo and suicide into her monster?"

Ryu looked down at his deck, and then at his field. "I can try..."

Rikuo drew. ("Jinzo...this can't help us.") "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Ryu drew and he smiled. "Perfect timing. First I flip up my face-down card, Cost Down!" He slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "This lowers the level stars of all of my monsters by two. Then I sacrifice my Masked Dragon to summon this!" He slapped down his card and behind him, there was an explosion of light as the majestic form of his people's avatar appeared on the field. "Grand Emperor Dragon (2000/2500) in attack mode! End turn."

Yamidra shrugged nonchalantly as the building void of energy within her monster's jaws got larger. "As long as Apocalypse Dragon is on the field, I cannot draw or play any cards. End turn."

Rikuo drew and he growled. ("Oh boy...Reverse of Reverse...") "I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) to the field!" The face-down monster faded away and was replaced by the metal form of Daniel's favorite monster. "Then I set three cards face-down on my field." The cards appeared in front of him. "End turn."

Ryu took a deep breath and then sighed calmly. ("This is turn two. We need to win this duel. Far too much is at stake to fail.") "I draw!" He pulled the card off of his deck, glanced at it, and then slid his Grand Nexus Dragon into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Dragon Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode!" A dragon demon wearing light armor appeared on his field and bowed to him.

"Now I reveal my face-down card combo, Revival Spear and Lord's Ascension!" His new monster was engulfed in light. When that light cleared, it revealed a monster that stood like a shining beacon of hope. "Grand Dragon General (3000/2500) in attack mode. Begin infinite summon combo!" The general nodded and then slammed its spear into the ground. The earth next to it churned as the summon combo began.

Rikuo smirked at Yamidra. "We have an infinite attack dragon too. So now you're finished!"

The Grand Emperor Dragon screeched its battle cry across the void as its attack became infinite. (Infinite/2500)

Ryu and Rikuo lifted their hands to point at the Apocalypse Dragon. "Grand Emperor Dragon," They both yelled, "Solar Stream!" The golden monster opened its jaws and powered up a charge of energy that it launched across the field at the mountainous dragon head.

Yamidra smiled. "Counter-attack."

The Apocalypse Dragon shot out a single jet of flame that sprayed across Ryu's field. When the fire died down, there was nothing left of the dragon demon or his monsters.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 0

Rikuo- 5700

Ryu- 0

Deondre- 0

Yamidra- 18300

Rikuo stared at the spot where his friend had been but seconds before. "How...we had..."

Yamidra continued to smile coldly, while her dragon's jaws charged up even more energy. "You shouldn't have been so fool-hardy. My creature permanently gains the attack power of whatever monster attacks it. So thanks to you..." She pointed to her creature's stats. (2X Infinite/Infinite)

Rikuo felt his arms hit his sides numbly for a few seconds. ("This is....") Then his resolve returned. ("I'm not beaten yet!") "I draw!!!" He pulled the top card off of his deck and stared at it. "No...End turn..."

Yamidra motioned to the building void of energy within the maw of her dragon. "This is it. This is the last turn you have. Are you going to successfully pull it off, or is this the end of the world? It all rests on your shoulders now."

Rikuo wasn't even listening. He was too busy staring down at the ground and mentally apologizing to all of his friends who had sacrificed their lives for nothing. ("We were beaten before we ever started. There's no combo that can win this. Not in just one turn.") He felt the pain burn into his heart. ("I've lost. Taken down by a god. Well...I guess there can't be a better way to go.") He just wished that there was a way to win this duel, but he knew that whatever he drew wouldn't affect the outcome. ("Everyone, forgive me...I can't handle this problem.") Crashing to his knees, he lowered his head to the ground. "I submit."

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_Envirius pointed at his kneeling opponent. "Is it over Joey? Have I won?"_

_A few seconds passed, and silence hung over the chamber..._

"_No...not yet..." Joey climbed to his feet. "I'm not out yet. There's still that single draw that I have left. And whether you want to believe it or not, this will be your end. Now...." His brown eyes looked upon his deck. "I draw!!!"_

He looked at the drawn card, and then to his Flame Swordsman. "I might die, but I'm gonna take you with me! Reveal face-down card, Lightning Blade!" The warrior's normally flaming sword was now wreathed with electricity. "This raises his attack power by 800 points!" (2600/1600) "Lightning Sword Strike!" The warrior launched forward and slammed its sword down on Envirius's shoulder.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 0

Envirius- 7300

Envirius broke down into helpless laughter. "That was it!? That was the very best that you could throw at me!?"

Joey slid the drawn card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down. End turn."

Envirius stroked the top card of his deck. "So...let's see. If this is a monster, then you die." He drew and chuckled. "And this duel is over!!! I summon a monster who will not only make you die, but let me live. Go Mystical Healer (0/2000) in defense mode!" A white-robed spellcaster appeared on the field in a crouching position. "His special ability allows me to gain 500 life points for every monster in the graveyard. Since I haven't really been keeping, I'll be nice and just leave it at a nice easy 3000." The healer whispered a spell and engulfed the dark-suited man in a green light.

Joey- 3500

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 0

Envirius- 10300

Joey couldn't believe this. ("This can't be true...this can't be...")

The Awakening of Oblivion absorbed Envirius's spellcaster and then pointed its spires at Joey. "Joey Wheeler. You've failed. Now die. Awakening of Oblivion, FIRE!!" The spire released a beam of green light.

Joey clenched his fists and barely felt any pain when the beam pierced his chest. He stumbled slightly, and then crashed to the ground, unmoved by the blow. ("Yug.......so..r...y...")

Joey- 0

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 0

Envirius- 10300

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Yamidra had been waiting to hear those words. "Finally an opponent with some sense. Alright then, prepare yourself for the arrival of the end! Apocalypse Dragon, begin the end!"

The titanic dragon released its blast, which tore along the ground and then became everything that Rikuo could see.

The wolf demon didn't need to apologize to Daniel. The two had agreed that no matter what happened, this had been a team effort. ("Guess I'll see you in the next life.") And then in one flash of dark light, he was gone.

Siegfried- 0

CJ- 0

Rikuo- 0

Ryu- 0

Deondre- 0

Yamidra- 18300


	37. The Last Chance

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 37: The last chance

Envirius looked upon the three corpses in his chamber and laughed. "Amazing. To think that even the king of games would fall to the power of Yamidra."

Behind him, the crystal pillar was starting to crack.

The dark-suited man spun around and smiled to the pillar. "Come forth, almighty Yamidra! Come forth and bring with you the darkness!"

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Yamidra smiled to the magnificent form of her ultimate creature. "The Bringer of the Apocalypse. You are by far the most powerful monster ever." She brought her attention to the edges of her prison. "And now it is time to break free. It's time to destroy!" And she started to laugh, the true nature of her voice so terrible that the darkness seemed to shy away from her in fear.

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The earth began to tremble as the pillar cracked more and more. And through all of the damage that was occurring around him, Envirius could not be happier. "So much time...and finally, the mistress of darkness has arrived! It's all come down to this!!!"

A beeping from his duel disk caught his attention. "Oh yes, I suppose I had better shut it off." His hand went down to click his device off-line, but he froze when he looked at the life point score. ("What the hell?")

Joey- 2000

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 0

Envirius- 300

"Emer...gen...cy....Provis...ions...allows....me....to....sac....ri....fice.....ma...gic...and....trap......car...ds.....on......my.....field....to....raise....my life...points."

Envirius glanced behind him and snorted. "Stay down Wheeler. Your life point counter is at zero. You didn't activate your card in time."

Joey, despite the gaping hole in his chest, was standing on his feet, and was wreathed in orange-red flames. "I...will...not....let...you...do....this. I WILL NOT!! DRAW!!" The flames around him cut off as he drew the top card of his deck.

Envirius clicked off his duel disk. "The duel is over. You lost, I won. Just accept that and die."

Joey glanced at the card he had drawn, and then he slid it into his disk. "You're wrong. This duel is connected to the one on the other side. And that duel isn't over yet." His Flame Swordsman, who was still on the field, shuddered and exploded. "And I'm going to help to make sure that Yamidra won't make it out. I play the Legendary Weapon Card Phoenix Wings!"

Envirius took a couple of steps towards the pillar. "The phoenix lord...you!?"

Joey continued to speak, completely ignoring Envirius. "Phoenix Wings allows me to sacrifice 1500 life points to revive one target from the dead."

Envirius rolled his eyes, quickly getting control of his surprise. "Not that it matters, but what exactly could you possibly bring back from the graveyard pile that would actually make a difference in this duel?"

Joey was already falling, the damage to his body to great to sustain him. "Not what....who...." He slammed into the ground face-first, unmoving.

Envirius sighed and shook his head. "Idiot." He looked back to the pillar. "Now come forth, almighty Yamidra!"

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Yamidra's laughter was cut off as an explosion of orange-red erupted from the ground where her opponent had stood just moments before. "Hmm? What's this?"

The flame arched upwards into a huge fountain that took the shape of a bird-like creature, and then folded inwards to create a small bonfire. Giving off one last hiss, the flames died away.

Daniel smiled to Yamidra, his demon form looking completely recharged. "The party's just getting started. So please return to your seat."

Yamidra continued to walk towards him, unabated. "I don't know how you survived, but step aside. The duel is mine and therefore, your world is doomed."

Daniel held up his duel disk. "Actually, I still have one turn left. If I'm correct, Rikuo surrendered, but I never did."

The dark dragoness sighed and floated back to her field, patting the enormous form of her Apocalypse Dragon soothingly. "This is ridiculous. You're like a cockroach. Fine, take your turn and your pathetic draw."

Daniel picked up the card that Rikuo had dropped, and he looked down at his deck. ("Can Daniel Pilkington do this? Can an ordinary human being stop a demon bent on destroying mankind and the earth? No....no he can't...")

**_("Are you a human? Were you ever one? Did you ever have a humanity to mourn the loss of?")_** A voice in the back of his head asked.

Daniel closed his eyes and sighed. "No...I never was a human. I am...and always will be...a demon."

His eyes slowly opened to reveal that though they were still brown, they were slotted like Rikuo's. "And I'm tired of running from that fact." Slowly he lifted his hand up to his deck. "Yamidra! Are you ready!?"

The dark dragoness sighed and crossed her arms underneath her robes. "Just end this. I'm getting bored of this emotional crap. Such a waste of time."

"That's where you are wrong. I'll show you that emotions are the most powerful things in the universe. They're something that, once you overcome their control over your life, helps you understand why you exist." Daniel placed his hand on the top card, running his fingers over the edges of the card. "And just when you think everything is over with, emotions can sometimes bring you the edge you need to win." The same red-orange flames that revived him now lined his form. "And if there is one emotion that has the potential to give the biggest recovery...."

His eyes were now shining crimson red. "...It's the feeling of divine retribution!!!" His hand snapped the card off of his deck. All of the flames that surrounded him flowed into the card, causing it to glow bright gold for a moment.

Daniel held the card in front of his face. "And the truth shall set you free." He flipped the card over to show its gold face. The picture was of a coat of arms with a hammer and spear crossing each other, and then three ornate swords forming a cross over them. "I play the ritual magic card Phoenix Knight's Revival!!!" The card shimmered and then faded out of his hand.

"This card requires that I sacrifice two monsters and 4000 life points, so I sacrifice Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord!" The two monsters faded away. Orange-red flames sprang up around him, and then flashed across the field, creating a wall of intense heat.

Daniel- 4000

Yamidra- 18300

Yamidra smiled calmly at the flames. "Are you dense? No monster, magic or trap cards of my opponent's can defeat the Apocalypse Dragon. He has no weakness."

"That's where I disagree with you! I don't intend to destroy your dragon in battle. I intend to kill you!" Daniel's voice echoed over the roar of the flames and the building energy from the Apocalypse Dragon.

The dark dragoness had to laugh at that. "I told you, I cannot take any damage while it is in play."

"Then we'll just have to take it out of play, now won't we? But first..." The flames died away. "Let me introduce you to my ultimate dragon slayer." Standing amongst the remains of the flame wall was the golden-armored form of a knight. His armor was inlaid with lines of silver and platinum, and at his side was a sheathed sword. His crimson eyes labeled him as a demon. "Yamidra, say hello to Divine Paladin of the Phoenix!" (8500/8000) The knight bowed to the dark dragoness, who frowned in response.

"What purpose does he serve? He has nowhere near enough attack to hurt my dragon, and even if he did, my dragon would just absorb the attack anyway."

Daniel flipped up all four of his remaining face-down cards. "Just watch. First I activate Reverse of Reverse, which lets me use another player's card as my own. I choose to take control of Deondre's D.D. Beacon, which is still in play." The green machine floated over to his field from its original position.

"Next I play a card that will give you a little gift, courtesy of Deondre! Activate Forceful Gift! This allows me to send one magic or trap card on my field to your field." The green machine floated over to Yamidra's field.

The dragoness looked at the device and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What purpose does all this serve?"

Daniel motioned to his next card. "Now I equip my Paladin with the Legendary Weapon Card Shattering Fang!" The ground in front of the knight exploded and spat out a huge blade shaped like a fang.

The Paladin caught it and slammed it into the ground, sending a wave of green energy across the field to crash into the Beacon. "The special ability of the Shattering Fang allows me to send one magic or trap card on my opponent's field to the graveyard. That means that I'm sending the D.D. Beacon to your graveyard."

"And?"

"And that means the Beacon's special ability triggers. When it is sent from the field to the graveyard, then all monsters on the card owner's field are removed from play." Daniel grinned knowingly, his still crimson eyes burning in the darkness. "And since D.D. Beacon is now your card, it will affect your Apocalypse Dragon."

Yamidra braced herself as a heavy wind roared across her field. When it died down, she was completely alone, her Apocalypse Dragon gone. "This is impossible...how can you stop the apocalypse with a piece of machinery?"

"That's the thing about you Yamidra. You're out of touch with reality when it comes to one thing. And that is understanding your limitations!" Daniel motioned to his last card. "Now it ends! Reveal Howling Sword!" The huge fang in the hands of the Paladin exploded into phantom flames. "This will add 1000 attack points to my creature's attack and then double it!" (19000/8000)

Yamidra growled, her dark eyes glowing. "I will not be defeated by some pitiful demon pup."

Daniel shrugged casually and pointed at the dragoness. "Sorry, but you just were. Divine Paladin of the Phoenix, attack her life points directly!" The knight launched forward, weapon held up high.

Yamidra clenched her fist tight. ("I will not be denied!")

A gruff voice echoed in her head. _("You just were, Iguana.")_ Then the Paladin brought his sword down in one arching slash...

Daniel- 4000

Yamidra- 0

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Envirius watched the portal in the pillar pulse a few times, and then he saw someone coming out. "Milady Yamidra!?"

Right before his head was removed from shoulders by a sword slash, he heard a voice calmly say, "Wrong."

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Daniel looked back at the crystal pillar, which was slowly collapsing inwards on itself. Then with one final cracking noise it shattered.

_("Daniel...I'm sorry that I choked.")_

Chuckling weakly, Daniel tapped the side of his head. ("Don't worry about it.") He walked over to see the three bodies of his friends, and yet he wasn't worried. Pulling a card out of his deck box, he smiled at it. "Phoenix Wings. It saved us from death. Let's see if it does what I hope it does." He placed the card in Joey's limp hand and clenched his fist tightly. Sparing one glanced at the four duel disks hanging from his back, he took a deep breath. on..."

The card pulsed in the hand of its owner, and then sprayed out an explosion of fire that filled the chamber. Daniel threw his arms up in front of his face and screamed, expecting to be burned alive. But just as quickly as the fire arrived, it was gone.

Deondre groaned and squinted his eyes shut. "I had this horrible dream that I was a demon and I died and..." He stared at his claws, and then sighed. "Right, not a dream."

CJ looked over at the remains of the crystal pillar, eyes wide. "You killed her?"

Siegfried just cradled his head and held his ears flat against his head. "Can you not be so loud please?"

Ryu looked over at Daniel, and burst into laughter. "I told you that Demon Lords are hard as hell to keep dead."

Daniel shrugged. "Meh, you owe a lot of it to Joey actually. If not for him, you'd all still be dead right now." He walked off towards the way out with a smile on his face. "Oh, and D? Thanks for the great combo idea."

Deondre stared at his friend's retreating backside, and then over at CJ. "Joey....saved us .....What?"

CJ shrugged and then they both looked back at the snoring form of Joey.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Coping with a sudden change in species

Author's Notes: To the Chazman- I understand that there is no number over infinite, cause infinite isn't a number. But if Yami can make a triple infinite attack monster, then I can make a double, darn it. Plus, get working on that next chapter of your story. I'm really itching to read it.


	38. Coping with a sudden change in species

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 88: Coping with a sudden change in species

A couple of quick calls later, on the cell phone of the late Envirius, and there was a Kaiba Corp. helicopter on the way to pick them all up and take them to Shadow Corp. headquarters. Once they arrived, it didn't take much effort to get back all of the collected hostages, considering that Rikuo and Ryu were both on the list of 'things to not mess with' when it came to the remaining Emissaries.

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Daniel stretched out in his chair and looked out the window of the Kaiba Corp. Jet that was taking him home.

Everyone had already said their goodbyes; with Daniel and Yugi promising each other that eventually they would get around to finding out which one of the two of them was better.

"Hey D, how much do you think I could sell this Guardian Maul for?"

Daniel groaned and rolled over in his chair to sigh at his friend. "CJ, you cannot sell that Legendary Weapon card. Not only is it dangerous, but it would be like selling a part of your heritage away. Not...a...option."

CJ sighed and lay back in his chair. "You're no fun at all Daniel. Why can't I sell it?"

Daniel's eyes shimmered and turned golden-amber.

"Because," Rikuo said, "If you do, I'll gut you like a fish. Ape-horse."

Daniel shook his head out and when he looked at his friend again, his eyes were brown once more. "Sorry."

CJ rolled his eyes at the fairly harmless threats of Rikuo. "It's alright. I'm a demon now too. I bet I could take him."

Daniel unconsciously sniffed the air and frowned. "Hey, where did Deondre go?"

Ryu looked back at them from his seat near the front. "He went to the bathroom. I think he went to try and find a way to turn back into himself again."

Daniel snickered. "He should be embracing his new gifts."

"Shut up Daniel! I know this is somehow your fault. ARGH! Stay down, stupid ears!"

Daniel lounged back in his chair and smiled, flicking one of his own wolf ears gently. "I don't mind it anymore. It used to feel unnatural to be like this, but since then I've accepted my demon heritage. You should too, Deondre."

"But I don't want to be a demon!! Plus...I'm a freaking dog demon! At least you're a wolf demon, lucky bastard."

CJ sighed and popped his neck. "You're such a big baby D, just live with it."

"You're not one to talk CJ! You look almost completely human still. I look freakish!"

Rikuo took over for Daniel and slid out of his seat. Stomping into the washroom, he screamed, "Quit your whining! Embrace your heritage, idiot!"

Deondre lunged out of the small booth and tackled the wolf demon, attempting to strangle him. "I know you had something to do with this! I know IT!!!"

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Daniel, Deondre and CJ were all asleep a few hours later.

Rikuo frowned over at Ryu. "So, what are we going to do with the remaining weapons? Yugi gave us the Winged Bow, Joey gave us the Phoenix Wings, and other than that, we have our own items. That still leaves the two held by Viper and Jasmine, and three mystery items."

The dragon demon looked out of the window by his seat and sighed. "Don't forget Siegfried. He took his weapon and left too. As for the mystery weapons, we would be foolish to search for them. They'll come to us in due time. It's the nature of the weapons to be attracted to one another."

Rikuo crossed his arms and growled quietly. "Jourgen, you have to understand that those things don't belong in this world. They're all far too dangerous."

Ryu sighed and cuffed Rikuo in the side of the head. "And you expect us to follow them to the ends of the earth? I think not. They'll find their way to us soon enough."

Rikuo rubbed the side of his head and frowned. "Fair enough, I suppose."

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End of Season 3

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Author's Notes: I know that this is kind of a weird place to end the season on, but I really didn't think that any kind of dramatic ending would have sufficed. Now, the question in my mind at the moment is if I should continue this series. I would be more than willing to, but I'm honestly out of ideas for where I should take it next.

So if there is anything you want to see, or any suggestions that you have for season four, if any, then please let me know. It's not that I am burned out on this storyline, but I think that it is time to give the people what they want. So just let me know if you want to see anything in the next season of Demon Duelist Legacy. Alright, I'll knock off the ranting. Later.


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